Another one!
by JadeAngelice
Summary: Realized a story I was writing could be ShizNat if slightly OOC and definitely AU. Thought I'd try it out that way. Oh noez, not more vampires! M for later chapters. R&R Pleaaase?
1. A Necessary Change

If you want to see some more of this, let me know. I'll put it up anyway, but only when I get really bored. Otherwise, review, I'll notice, and get some more up.

Shizuru Viola was not quite sure when the change happened-when it was that she stopped caring, that is. She only knew for certain the moment she realized that she had. It was two years ago, December and still seventy degrees in Los Angeles. Lack of beautiful weather (like snow) notwithstanding, she would never understand why people chose to live in California. Realistically speaking, it has had the highest natural disaster rate in the entire world. So, why then do people flock there by the hundreds to live? One of these days, that dismal state is just going to break off of the U.S. and float away-and she would be on the new West Coast, pointing and laughing at those silicone-poisoned, pot-smoking plastic hippies. Yes, Shizuru mused, she was quite bitter about a great many things.

Anyway, she was sitting on a park bench near downtown L.A. around three in the morning, thinking thoughts similar to those as she wished she were closer to home-somewhere with changing seasons. Beautiful colors as the leaves fell during autumn, drifts of snow colored a white that reflected the sun which made them seem like silver mountains as far as the eye could see in winter-even the angry and violent storm season that signaled the coming of spring. Here, there was only a year-round summer. Disgusting, really. Although they could not miss what they never had, she supposed.

A frightened, decidedly human cry of distress jolted the woman out of her bitter thoughts and she turned to look behind her toward the source. She saw a young girl, human by the smell of her, being held down by a group of men (also human). A few muffled screams and several minutes later, as the last man jumped off of her and he and his friends disappeared into the night leaving a broken and sobbing girl, Shizuru realized exactly what she had just witnessed. That realization took her another few minutes to process. Why had she not jumped up from the bench to defend her? Why was she not helping her now? Why had she not killed them all...most importantly, why was she not even upset? All valid questions, and yet she still did not seem to care. She simply watched the girl lie there for hours that night, sobs shaking her small frame as she tried to understand the changes in herself that she had not noticed until after they had taken place.

She supposed that she should have seen it coming long ago, as every member of her own race that she had met who had passed the age of 100 seemed to have lost most of their human qualities-compassion, chivalry, love-but she had thought them monsters at the time, beneath her-and determined to never become like them herself. So why, on that beautifully horrible December night of her 173rd year, had she only just realized that she had become one of the monsters which she so hated? Even after Shizuru's apparent epiphany, she still did not help the defiled girl up from the ground of that park that night, she simply got up and returned home to sleep for the day.

She remembered getting up the next night, and staring into the mirror for most of the night (yes, she did have a reflection). What kept the woman staring at the girl who looked back at her was how much she had changed. Shizuru could barely recognize herself. She did know that she had not paid much attention to her appearance after she had become what she was now, but in her defense, she had not the need to do so. It was an extra they all received-ethereal beauty. Still, she had never realized just how different she looked until she passed the mirror that night. Indeed, she was no longer the young girl of eighteen, only just married to the handsome and rich young Lord her parents had always wanted for her.

Her hair, she observed-once a rich and deep brown that shone with a red tint in the sunlight was still full and of a decent length (to the middle of her back), but the color was so much different than she remembered. Over a century without sunlight had taken its toll, her once deep brown hair was now a very light, tawny color. Still beautiful in it's own right of course, simply...not herself. In contrast, the eyes that had once been a deep, autumn brown, sometimes darkening into almost blackness were now a thick, wine red, attracting even the most avoidant of human eyes with their unearthly pull. Needless to say, her once perfectly toned skin was now anemic and pallid. At least her teeth still looked great, she remembered thinking bitterly, if you discounted the daintily pointed canines. Then again, some people found that attractive in this day and age.

Shizuru spent a very long time after that alone with her thoughts and sometimes simply staring into that mirror, trying to figure out what had changed and why, even what she should do about said change. The problem was, she just did not seem to care. That was the only thing that even concerned her, the only reason she had even understood that her heart had become cold-the fact that she should have cared, but did not. So, for a few weeks, she mulled over what she should do to try and return to the self she did not dislike so much. Although realistically, at this point Shizuru disliked everything that existed equally. Therein lie the problem.

Late in the summer after the first year of near-solitude in that Hellhole humans called California, Shizuru had a sort of idea and moved inland again, desperately missing climates similar to the home she lost so long ago. There was nowhere like London in America, but she would have to make due with what she could find. So the woman came to make a residence in Southwestern New York, in a town called Granville. No, it did not sound all that attractive, but it was large enough to have a community college and quite a few residents, and yet remained small enough for her appearance to attract very little attention. Yes, that was her grand plan. The Lady Viola was going to attend college, 150 years late.

Then again, there had not been universities in her time, either. So she could not be held accountable for her previous lack of interest in such things. She would be taking night classes after sundown, of course-either way, she knew had decided to look in a very strange place for the feeling, the sense of caring that she seemed to have lost. She hoped she would find the humans interesting enough to care for them-and this was the only age group she had ever paid any mind to as far as humans were concerned. The young ones seemed idiotic these days, the old ones too set in their ways. The age for adulthood, she had found, was also much later than it had been when she had been a child herself. She had been prepared to be a wife and mother by the age of fifteen, and had been married at sixteen-and that was quite late in her time, as it was, her parents had been relieved that the Lord had wanted her.

Shizuru located a beautiful abandoned two-story red Victorian house there near the college which seemed to have been empty for decades-likely one of those homes owned by some wealthy person who was going to float off with the rest of California whom knew not or could not be bothered to care of its existence as far as to have it torn down or taken care of either way. It looked decent enough on the outside-no broken window seals on the front side of the house although there were a few in the back-but no one was likely to pay that much attention. She spent a few nights moving things in, and then working out ways to insulate the home from the coming winter's chill.

She had to make it seem as if the house were hers, and lived in. She had to buy carpeting, fix linoleum, things of that sort. She was quiet and did all of these things in secret (lucky for her, she had 150 years to perfect her home improvement skills) and it was finished within two months. She covered the holes in the back windows of the house with plywood (as well as covering the front windows with plywood so that her light did not leak out and alert any unwanted guests to her presence there), and since there was not much rotting in the floorboards or support beams (very surprising) and the roof was leaking so little that she could fix it herself with only minimal tools (even more surprising), the old house seemed beautiful and well-taken care of by the time the autumn came and it was time for college. In fact, she had only just replaced the old fireplace in the large and comfortable den the week before classes started.


	2. The Witching Hour

Already two people interested in just one day. Nifty! Thanks, ya'll-Let me know if there's anything I can do to make this better for you-constructively and logically, of course. I've got up to chapter 7 pretty well done, I just have to make adjustments to them, so these first ones can come out pretty quickly. And as long as people continue to let me know they're interested, I'll keep writing the story. Time for Shizuru to kick some bootay. Enjoy!

Two days before she was scheduled to begin attending Granville Community College, Shizuru had an unexpected visitor. She felt her coming even as she knew the girl was feeling a surge of triumph as she had broken unnoticed into the woman's back door, or so she thought. She could not help it as a small, amused smile tugged at her lips as she mused that the girl, though powerful, was grossly inexperienced-and it would be her destruction. Of course, she had heard the lock give-she had not spent the last 150 years sitting on her thumb, after all. Her senses were honed, those of a predator, and she had even heard the light, relieved exhale the girl made as she believed she had crossed her threshold undiscovered. Her senses of hearing and especially smell were envied even among her own kind.

Shizuru sat waiting in the red velvet high-backed arm chair she had bught from the antique shop the evening before. She had seen it sitting in the corner of that musty, old, yet inexplicably beautiful store like something pulled from her very memoory and had immediately taken it off the old store owner's hands. She now had it placed in the den just to the side of her fireplace, so that she faced both the room's only doorway and the large fire at once.

However impressive Shizuru's enhanced human senses were, they were not how she had sensed the young woman's approach as she had entered the backyard. The girl foolishly believed she gave off the same...sense-if that was even close to the right word-as a human. Either that, or she really was a fool. The girl was a witch, and a practicing one. Though truly enough, that was obvious given the simple fact that she was breaking into Shizuru's home. Only witches had the strength, skill, and knowledge to effectively defeat one of her kind. Humans occasionally got lucky in that respect, but those instances were few and far between. It was obvious that she was not a weathered practitioner though, she could taste it-another ineffective human description of something much more-in the power that she was giving off.

There was a large enough amount of power radiating from her, but only a small fraction of it was harnessed, controlled. Shizuru wondered how she had found her new home and which family she was descended from (as she had only last week finished claiming this territory as her own from others of her kind), but she supposed she would know soon enough. The girl was creeping at a needlessly slow pace through the kitchen now, she would reach the den in only a moment. She wondered then what this girl's life had been like, if she knew she was on her way to die, and who would miss her when she did not come home.

The door to the den cracked and she heard the witch hold her breath, listening for movement. Was the creature inside? Was she out feeding, or perhaps asleep? She mused that those were the thoughts racing through the girl's head. Unfortunately for her, Shizuru was waiting calmly on the other side of the door. She smiled again, unable to resist taunting the little witch.

"Would you care for some tea, Miss?" Shizuru spoke softly and cordially, savoring the scent of fear that instantly began pouring forth from the witch at the sound of her voice. The girl steeled herself and burst through the door as if she had intended to do so from the beginning, and Shizuru took this time to give the girl's appearance a once-over. Taking note of the her strong features, shock of curly red hair, and piercing green eyes, she instantly placed her in the Harrow family. Another Harrow witch so soon-the odds had not been in favor.

The magical power she posessed was one line of twelve existing magical-blooded families. The power was passed down only to women, and as evidenced by her appearance, the Harrows hailed originally from Ireland. They were also the fifth most powerful magical-blooded family in the world, and Shizuru and her sire, Arturius, had killed the Harrow witch who would have been this girl's grandmother. Or was it great grandmother? She could not remember either way and unless this was a personal vendetta, which was unlikely, it mattered not.

The Harrow witch stood in the doorway, her mouth a hard line and her palm out facing Shizuru with menace. The brunette woman remained seated, calmly taking a sip of her tea.

"I guess you're older than I thought-you're still awake." the witch spoke calmly, but her wild eyes betrayed her. Shizuru smiled, putting her cup on its saucer and setting it on the table.

"Perhaps. Now, would you like to sit with me?" she asked conversationally, and the witch scoffed.

"I'd rather die." she spat venomously, and Shizuru folded her hands in her lap, her face still a perfect mask of nonchalance. Strangely, she felt her enjoyment from just a few moments ago fading. She felt...tired, for lack of a better word. How many times would she have this same conversation, and how many women would she be forced to kill in self-defense? She was having trouble finding a reason to continue, but did so regardless.

"That can be arranged. It's unfortunate that you Harrow women are so forceful and violent. I suspect we might have a great deal in common if given the chance to sit and speak with each other." Shizuru sighed, meaning every word. What might they learn of each other if they were to converse? She wondered if witches, much like her own kind, ever found themselves lacking in positive emotion-the whole lot of them lived to hunt and kill beings such as herself.

"I share nothing in common with the likes of you, monster. I'm sure of that-and it's Yuuki, now. We haven't been called the Harrows in almost a century." the witch hissed at her as if she had been insulted. Well, in her mind, the brunette woman supposed that she had. As the witch's anger rose, so did the temperature in the room, and for the first time, Shizuru's red eyes narrowed in warning.

"I must ask you to desist, Miss Harrow..or Yuuki, as you prefer. If you continue to threaten my life in my own home, I will have no choice but to take yours from you." the british woman warned quietly, knowing how dangerous the Harrows' primary ability was to her.

"You are NOT alive, abomination. Do you know how many of your kind I have destroyed?" she said with an ugly sneer, and Shizuru found herself frowning as well. For the first time tonight, the Harrow witch did not seem attractive.

"And I, many of your kind as well. Regardless, I must advise you to seek out another of my kind to destroy-one who will not so easily defeat you. There are very few of YOUR kind left and as our numbers continue to grow-you are not keeping us in check as you once did." she added on a whim, speaking her thoughts. If her species grew out of control, humans would be...lost. She didn't think she would enjoy that at all-and for a moment she even cared. The witch stood tall, her palm still held out and the temperature in the room becoming uncomfortable for the british woman.

"You will NOT defeat me." said the redheaded witch with determination, and seemed to feel the need to explain herself, "You can't be allowed to continue existing. For those you murder, for the lives you destroy, I HAVE to kill you." she said with a conviction that made Shizuru raise her eyebrows. The will and excitement of taking this woman's life faded even more, and she sighed out loud. She said she would kill Shizuru-but does that not mean that she WAS alive? The sigh seemed to have broken the Harrow's last nerve, because her palm erupted in flame and poured viciously toward the tired woman.

The british woman stood, and her eyes went cold as the flames flattened against an invisible wall inches from Shizuru's skin. The witch fell back a step in surprise.

"What in God's name...?" spilled from her lips, and Shizuru felt a prick of rage, supressing it quickly-she knew that particular discomfort.

"I must request that you refrain from speaking that name in my house." she said coldly as she walked toward the redhead, the wall pushing away the flames still pouring forth from the witches palm as she approached. The woman was now frozen in terror, the look in her eyes wild again as Shizuru reached out with her own palm. As she came toe to toe with Miss Harrow and touched her own palm lightly to the other's, the flame extinguished instantly in a heavy swirl of wind that put out the fireplace and sent the witches swath of hair into disarray.

"With an ability like that," began Shizuru calmly, "It is easy to see how you might have destroyed many of my species-we are not fond of fire, after all." she mused. "However, Miss Harrow, as extraordinary as your elemental ability may be-I myself am set apart from the norm of my own kind. I fit nowehere, you see-not among your race, nor among mine. I do not murder innocent humans. Only your kind in self-defense do I kill. And you will swear on the blood of your family that you will leave me be, or I will kill you. Strangely enough, this is not my wish, but it is a necessity either way." she finished with finality, and the woman finally came to her senses.

"You're a...you're...but that's impossible!" she raved. "I would have sensed..." she tried, but Shizuru stopped her. Her throat was burning now and her teeth aching, with the woman's fear so close to her skin.

"I am the only one like myself, so how would you know then whether or not you would 'sense' me?" the british woman spat curtly, adding "I tire of resisting the scent of your fear. Give me your promise, or deny it." she spoke quickly, knowing her voice was deep and almost growling by now. The Harrow witch opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. It seemed to take her ages to decide what she would reply, but finally her jaw set in determination.

"I can't leave you be. I know it isn't possible for me to do that. My values and beliefs can't be changed only to save my own life." she spoke with the finality of someone who knew death was coming, and her eyes, wild in her last determination bored into Shizuru's as if begging the woman to understand. The brunette's eyebrows furrowed.

"You choose honesty, even at the expense of your life?" she asked in bewilderment. Her excitement in killing this woman was far gone now, and even her desire to do so was slipping away.

"I do. If not, I'm no better than you...or your bretheren." she said, and there was sadness in her voice. The british woman snarled in frustration, her instincts beginning to overcome her mind-and her mind even agreed with what she must do, or at least the logical part of it.

"I claim none of them, and I find myself very sorry for what I must do now." she said, allowing her own internal confusion to leak into her face and voice, and the woman's eyes went surprised before she smiled-not a cold smile, or a smirk, but a real smile-of understanding, perhaps. Shizuru was certain it wasn't happiness at the prospect of her death, at least. Not to kill this woman would be foolish-suicidal at best! But still...

"You know what?" the woman asked, seeming confused, but then smiling honestly. "So am I." came her last words, and Shizuru sank teeth into the Harrow woman's throat.


	3. Taking Out The Trash

Thanks, guys, for reading!

Shizuru's pulling her signature statement once here, and possibly only once. She's from Britain and not Japan so it doesn't make sense. But I couldn't help myself. Now, here comes the Natsuki! Enjoy. :)

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Shizuru sighed as she left the building that housed her final class of the evening. Not much had changed in a century as far as the English language was concerned (slang still gave her a decent amount of trouble, of course). Arithmetic, however (which she had just left) had changed a great deal and was frustratingly difficult for her to understand. She did not often run into situations in which she had less knowledge than anyone else present.

The british woman was jarred from her musings by a muffled cry, continuing forward to the alley where she found its source. The autumn chill seemed to disappear for a moment, leaving her again in a Californian December night where a young girl lay broken and crying for hours on end. Shizuru scowled and closed her eyes tightly, opening them after a moment to see what was truly in front of her.

At the opposite end of the alley were three disheveled men (very drunk men, the scent carried to her by breeze said) who seemed to be assaulting a young girl-that is, a girl who would have been about Shizuru's age when she was still alive. A flash came through her mind's eye-the opening to the scene she witnessed with indifference that brought about the realization of her lost humanity. Without any further thought on the matter, she resolved that she would help the girl-this was something she would never allow in her presence again as long as she lived (and that might be a very long time indeed).

The men stirred no interest in the brunette woman, in fact if it were possible, bile would have risen in her throat at the smell of the disgusting creatures. It was the girl that caught her attention-she was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was straight but full and fell to the middle of her back. The color was black-but it had a deep blue tint that Shizuru had never seen before. Her eyes were a piercing (almost glowing!) jade green. The largest of the three men was holding her from behind, a hand clamped over her mouth so she could not scream.

It was the look on her face, however, that gave Shizuru pause. She did not appear to be afraid, as would be logical. Rather she seemed frustrated, angry even. It was odd, but the british woman also found a fierce emotion welling up inside her at this very familiar scene. It was a protective feeling, something that made her want to destroy these men and make the girl safe again. It was unfamiliar, but at this point welcomed-was this not the humanity she had come here to recapture?

None of the humans in the alley had seen Shizuru yet, for she stood at the opposite end of the alley and their eyes weren't nearly as well-equipped to darkness as her own. She began moving forward at a calm pace, and when they could see her they started and turned quickly to squint in her direction.

"Oh, look. Someone for US to play with." said the smallest man as she came into sight, indicating himself and the other man who was not preoccupied with the girl who was struggling admirably in his grasp. (He seemed to be having difficulty restraining her even being twice her size.) The one the little man had indicated was very quiet, staring at Shizuru with a look she found very familiar, so much so that it brought a smile to her face. As she continued forward, the quiet one took a step back. Smart human. He obviously had a witch somewhere above him in his family tree, and thus his senses responded negatively to her. She would probably enjoy killing him...later.

"Ara, ara. It doesn't appear to me as if this young woman is enjoying your company." She offered sweetly as she halted her approach a few yards from the three men. "And I cannot say that I blame her. You smell like you've just crawled out of those dumpsters." she indicated on a whim, thinking out loud. "Either way, if you'd like to attack someone whom is a little more able to keep up...that's just fine with me. Though I am not entirely sure you will be able to keep up with me." she gave them their last straw, still smiling kindly at the angry men. The small one spat on the ground, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"Let's get that bitch." The little man said to his quiet friend before lunging at Shizuru alone. The quiet man only kept staring at the ethereal woman, and the same was true of the girl who was being restrained, though her expression was one of concern-for Shizuru?-rather than panic. The british woman sidestepped the small one's blind charge for her and fluidly lifted a knee into his midsection as softly as was necessary, and this ended with him face down on the pavement, groaning. She had most likely broken several ribs, but he was safely alive. She highly doubted that the damsel she was attempting to rescue would consider lethal force the proper solution. Shizuru continued forward and the quiet man finally broke, running for the opposite end of the alley. She smiled, her lips moving in a whisper, sending a silent promise that she knew the wind would carry to his ears alone.

"I will be seeing you later." And the pale brunette woman saw his head jerk in her direction just before he rounded the corner to disappear. The look on his face made her smile in anticipation, as it was one she knew well and often incited-abject terror. She did enjoy that expression.

"What the fuck?" The largest one finally said as he watched his friend desert him. Here, it was the british woman's turn to be surprised. The dark-haired captive twisted suddenly from his distracted grasp as if she had been waiting all along for something to draw the man's attention, dropping into a crouch and then coming up putting all the force she would muster into a knee to his groin. He stumbled backward with a satisfying grunt of pain, glanced once at his friend on the ground, and left after his other partner (though with a very noticable limp, she noted pleasantly).

Shizuru stared in surprise at the girl as she dusted herself off with a sour face.

"Assholes." she muttered, and the british woman found herself smiling as a word she usually found disgusting sounded beautiful when said with a voice like this one. It was light and soft, but very husky-it only seemed to half-match her physical demeanor if the way she had just handled the previous scuffle was any indication. "Thanks...I guess." she finally said to Shizuru, turning her face up to look at the woman who had now approached her. She seemed to be ready to say something else but her eyes had gone wide and now she was staring at the taller woman.

"Are you all right?" Shizuru asked, her posture stiff as she felt uncomfortably scrutinized (little sense as that made-she had not felt any such thing before). The girl blinked and seemed to shake herself before replying.

"Oh, um...yeah. I was just...well, uh. What were you doing here?" she finally settled on inquisitiveness, her face reddening slightly as she stammered. Shizuru couldn't keep the smile off her face at the girl's behavior.

"I simply happened by, walking home from classes. I was hoping to help you-but it seems you had it under control after all." she answered.

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have let that jerk get a hold on me like that in the first place, but I'd never have got out of it if not for you showing up and knocking the little guy into next week. So thanks." she insisted, and Shizuru gave a graceful shrug.

"As you will. But thanks, in these situations at least, are unnecessary." she offered honestly. Chivalry was not something that merited thanks, by any means-at least as far as Shizuru was concerned. It was a concept she seemed to have spontaneously recovered-she was not about to question it or expect reward.

"Um...so hey, can I take you for coffee? There's a place just around the corner, and this seems like one of those times when you ought to sit down and try to get to know somebody. You did save my life I guess, or at least my...well, you know." she petered off uncomfortably, and the taller woman gave her another insightful smile.

"Of course. That sounds wonderful." she answered, and together they began the walk toward a nearby cafe'. Upon rounding the second corner, Shizuru cursed herself. The lighting in nearby establishments for buying things like coffee was not one of the things she had investigated when she had moved here-it had not occurred to her that she might be going into one.

Shizuru had carefully chosen this particular college for its night classes and major advertisement of a "natural, comfortable learning environment" (Well, that and the current inhabitants of this territory were weak and easily dominated). This meant that class sizes were smaller, rooms more spacious, and most importantly that every hallway and classroom used natural lighting. This last point made attending this college moderately more expensive than it would have been elsewhere and though it did bother the woman to spend so much on unrequired schooling, it was a necessary expense.

It was much easier, if not blatantly obvious to see that she was different from everyone else when under fluorescent lighting. It was one human invention she (and most of her kind) did not forgive them for. They came to the door of the cafe, and glancing inside the woman saw the lights were blessedly dim. She did not want to have to deal with a crowd of besotted humans so late at night (she wondered if she even remembered how). They took a single booth seat by the window, and the girl looked at her expectantly as she sat across from Shizuru.

"What are you having?" the younger girl had a strangely awed look about her as she watched Shizuru closely, and the brunette woman wondered if it was important to her what she ordered now. Perhaps.

"I'll have one of those." she said awkwardly, pointing at a large picture of some special the cafe' was having as the waitress approached. "It looks scrumptious." she attempted for effect-she would probably have to force at least some of the drink back up later on. Too much fluid made her violently sick, and she could have no solid food at all. When the girl next to her let out a sudden burst of laughter, the british woman grimaced.

"Did you just say 'scrumptious'?" she asked with mirth glittering in those disturbingly bright green eyes of hers. Shizuru stared at her, not comprehending her amusement. After a moment, the girl shrugged-unrepentant, but apologetic. "Sorry...my Grandmother was the only person I've ever heard use that word, and you're-well, my age." she explained. The british woman frowned, feeling awkward and very old. "Aren't you?" she added with a frown, as it occurred to her.

"What word should I use in that case?" she asked (obviously not answering the latter question), and the grin she received for the question incited another odd feeling in the pit of her stomach-not altogether unpleasant.

"I don't know...tasty, maybe? Or just, "that looks good". I mean, 'scrumptious' is all right too-it was just...unexpected, I guess." the girl attempted to explain, seeming frustrated with herself (and pink in the face as well, she noted to herself with mirth). The waitress brought their drinks, and when Shizuru took a sip she attempted to make it seem as if she were enjoying its foul taste. She thought she was doing well at it, but the frustratingly perceptive girl immediately asked, "What's the matter? Don't like it?" the woman looked up.

"Of course. It's..." she paused. "Good." This earned the woman another spurt of laughter.

"Don't drink it if you don't like it." she said with an adorable frown, before stopping suddenly, the corners of her mouth falling further downward. "I don't know your name yet." she sounded as if this had just occurred to her.

"I am Shizuru Viola." said the british woman slowly, with a measure of uncertainty. The younger girl smiled.

"Natsuki. It's nice to meet you." she offered, causing Shizuru to return her smile. Natsuki's cheeks reddened perceptibly, as they seemed to each time the brunette woman smiled at her in earnest. She hoped it would continue, as she found it endearing.

"You almost look too young to be a college student," the younger girl said suddenly as they sat making small talk, "but you talk like someone from, I don't know, my grandma's generation. Where are you from?" This was another reason why Shizuru didn't have more contact than was necessary with humans. Too many damn questions-and the british woman abhorred lying, even when it was a necessity.

"I am..from Britain." she said, at least beginning with truth. The girl raised an eyebrow.

"I know other people from over there, and they say things just about the same as we do." she frowned, seeming confused. "I mean, you have that cool accent-but...I don't think I've ever heard them use words or language the way you do." she seemed about to continue, but Shizuru headed her off before she could ask even more impossible questions.

"My parents were...very strict in regards to proper speech and...etiquette." the brunette woman explained, feeling pleased that she could at least tell partial truths. She had been raised a 'proper lady' in her time, of course. A draft came through the door as a couple entered, laughing quietly, and Shizuru felt again that Natsuki's scent was familiar in some way. Thankfully, she had fed before attending her first class of the night and her instincts were nothing more than background noise. However, as she didn't come in contact with humans much outside of "meal time", she didn't understand the familiarity-the only beings she came in contact with that were similar to humans were..."What's your family name?" she asked suddenly, startling Natsuki. She felt fearful for the first time in near a century, fearful that this girl whom she seemed to be developing a...fascination with was someone who would be coming to kill her sooner or later.

"It's Kruger." she replied, giving the woman a strange look, and as relief washed over Shizuru, added, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you." she replied, smiling sheepishly and giving a graceful shrug. "I think that the..." she paused with a look of disgust at the offending cup in her hand, "coffee is not sitting well with me."

"Never met a college student who didn't like coffee before." Natsuki grinned.

"I much prefer tea." Shizuru volunteered, surprising herself. What was she doing here, anyway-behaving like some sort of besotted teenager? Some sophomoric stubbornness kept her seated and smiling at the younger girl, ridiculous as she knew it all was.

"Of course you do, you're british." Natsuki pointed out in jest and then proceeded to throw questions at Shizuru one after another. She asked about inconsequential things like her favorite color (lavender), her favorite type of weather (rain during autumn), favorite food (lie-italian cuisine), and other such things. Time flew by, and the british woman startled at her sudden headache, turning abruptly to look out the window. She cursed herself silently for having lost track of time this badly-she had roughly fifteen minutes to get inside for the day-before the sun started to rise. She should have felt it sooner, the woman panicked. Was she that distracted by this human that her senses were suddenly so dull?

"I must be going." She interrupted the girl. "I've just noticed that it is very late." Natsuki looked puzzled at the sudden seriousness in Shizuru's tone, but glanced at her watch.

"Oh, damn. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was this late already." she apologized and stood with Shizuru. The hurried woman watched Natsuki fumble for her purse and dropped a large bill on the table.

"I've taken care of it." she asserted, turning to leave.

"Wow, uh...thanks-I guess." came the...bluenette's muttered reply as she stared at the table, and Shizuru couldn't decide whether to be enraged or elated that the girl snapped out of it in time to catch her before she had made it out the door. "You're really in a hurry, aren't you? Going to turn into a pumpkin?" she joked.

"Something like that." she replied, earning an odd look.

"Can we, ah...could we do this again sometime?" she said quickly as she blushed, suddenly seeming very shy. Shizuru did not have time to be amused, so she simply answered.

"Of course. Whenever you like."

"Tomorrrow?" the girl asked hopefully, and the british woman raised her eyebrows.

"There is no problem with that, I suppose." she answered distractedly. The rest of her body was beginning to join her head in its horrible throbbing pain. "Ah, how do I contact you?"

"Cell phone?" Shizuru frowned.

"I do not yet own a telephone of any kind." she said, and didn't know how much longer she would be able to hide her pain. "Perhaps you could just meet me at my home then?" she gave the easiest solution.

"Really?" Natsuki seemed surprised. "Sure, um...what's your address?" she asked. "When should I get there?"

"Here." Shizuru grabbed a napkin off the table, borrowed a waitress' pen, and wrote her address down on it. Handing it to the shorter girl, she replied, "I have things to do tomorrow morning, but by evening I should be finished. Six o'clock?" Natsuki seemed to be fascinated by the ornate, almost calligraphic writing on the napkin, but looked up with a beautiful smile.

"It's a date, then." The british woman would have been flustered if she wouldn't have been so miserable, but instead she walked out the door and into the nearest alleyway when she was sure no one was around to follow her.

"What is wrong with me?" she questioned aloud with frustration, and lifted herself home. She was there within ten minutes, and safe in her house at last, she drew the only set of curtains that weren't permanently drawn. She had her head in one of her hands and was groaning in pain as she made the (seemingly) excruciating climb up the stairs to her room. The worst part of her night was the morning. Her whole body felt as if it were on fire, and for the last hour of every night, she was forced to feel herself die slowly. She collapsed into her large four-poster bed at last, and the moment the sun broke the horizon, she let out a small whimper of agony with her last breath as she died-for the day.


	4. A Dangerous Friend

Aaaand...here it is. Might be a little dry, but I promise the next one will make up for it! Thanks yet again for reading, and enjoy!

Shizuru opened her eyes and sat up in one motion, drawing an unnecessary breath. It was a habit she and many of her kind had trouble breaking. Dying and being 'reborn' again each day brought with it the necessity for a few awkward adjustments. Glancing at the drawn curtains in the bedroom, she supposed it was an hour or two before sunset. She rose slowly, feeling groggy and tired-as she would until the sun dropped below the horizon. She padded silently across the room into the connected bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub. She'd had to spend a considerable amount of money on it, but as bathing was one of her favorite indulgences, it was necessary. As a rule, her kind had no need for bathing, since they did not sweat or otherwise excrete any fluids that bred bacteria or a scent (at least, not a smell humans could pick up on unless they were very close-and in that case it was an aphrodesiac to them). However, since bathing was her favorite luxury she would always afford it herself. As the bath ran, she glanced in the mirror at her mussed hair. While she did not move during the day, her body reactivated itself as slowly as it had died the night before, meaning that for an hour before she woke she tossed and turned in something like slow seizures. Then for an hour or two after she woke, she felt exhausted and her mind and body seemed to move very sluggishly.

Frowning at her reflection, the woman snatched a bottle of conditioner and disrobed to climb into her tub. Hair was actually one of the things her kind had to take care of. If it was not conditioned and kept hydrated (her scalp secreted no oils to do this) it would eventually dry and become very brittle. Her kind did not grow any new hair from the moment of their first death, so what she did have, she made sure to keep-although the thought crossed her mind then that she did not mourn the loss of the hair from the rest of her body. Brushing a small bit of conditioner through her eyebrows first, she massaged conditioner through her hair. As she finished, she turned suddenly toward the sound of her doorbell, swearing softly as she realized her mistake. She set the tub to drain and got out, hearing the doorbell ring again-this time with a hesitant softness in its tone. Not thinking to do much more than throw a robe over herself, she strode through the living room to the front door. She noted Natsuki's scent from her bedroom and cursed under her breath-of course she had forgotten she had agreed to meet the girl (and given her the address, at that!). Shizuru paused to indulge herself by breathing deeply through her nose before opening the door (though she kept herself behind it as she did so). The sun was still barely visible, and even this indirect light made her feel extremely nauseated and light-headed.

"Come in." the british woman offered softly, in order to hide the pain that wracked her frame. Natsuki stepped through the door hesitantly, not having actually seen Shizuru yet. The older woman immediately closed the door, feeling better the instant she did so. Turning to look at the girl, the same red face and surprised eyes awaited her. "I apologize for my state of dress." she said awkwardly and tightened her robe as she suddenly realized (to her chagrin) that she wasn't fully dressed.

"Um...it's okay. I didn't mean to, ah, interrupt anything..." Natsuki started uncomfortably, her eyes darting to the hallway behind Shizuru as if expecting someone else to be there. The british woman let out a surprised laugh. "Why are you laughing at me?" the younger girl said immediately, her expression sullen. Shizuru looked at her with a feigned frown.

"You assume too much." she said, uncertain as to why she seemed so quick to speak her mind to the human. "I apologize if I've offended you. I was...not feeling well earlier today, and did not realize how late it was when I went to bathe." Natsuki stared at her again, and she wondered if the girl ever looked at anyone else in this way-then thought that if she did, it would be just as impossible for them to deny her anything or to do anything but try to please the girl.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to apologize, I'm the one who barged in here and thought you were...well, it was stupid of me to think that-and now you're apologizing to me." she stammered, and then shook her head with a smile. "You're really something else." Shizuru smiled indulgently, and guestured toward her living room.

"I am not entirely sure whether to be flattered or offended, and so I shall choose to be neither. Would you like to wait in my sitting room while I change into something a little more appropriate?" she asked, and Natsuki shrugged.

"If you aren't feeling well, you know, I could just go-"

"Unnecessary. I'm feeling much better now-unless you do not wish to wait." Natsuki was watching her again as if she were some great mystery, but shrugged her acquiescence.

"I'll wait." she said simply, and Shizuru led her into the sitting room.

"I will be quick." she offered as she left the room.

"Don't hurry on my account." Natsuki said with a smile in her voice. The british woman went bak to her bedroom and chose the first dress she saw-she only wore pants when going out to her classes because dresses were unpopular among the age group she was emulating-which was a pale lavender, with a low cut neck and form fitting until it reached her upper thighs, where it flared out slightly and fell around her ankles. She returned to the sitting room and stopped in surprise when Natsuki's head turned in her direction before she had finished turning the corner. No human could have heard her moving-that would be impossible.

"Are you okay?" Natsuki asked, startling her out of her surprise. Shizuru smiled to herself-of course she was being paranoid. The girl probably had heard her-it was still not perfect dark, so she was not as silent as she should have been.

"Oh, I am sorry. Did you...hear me coming?" Shizuru asked on a whim. Natsuki seemed confused by the question, but answered reguardless, her face turning an adorable shade of red as she did so.

"Actually, no." Shizuru raised an eyebrow.

"How, then?" she had to ask, feeling wary for unknown reasons.

"Uh..." Natsuki stammered, confusing the british woman with her sudden embarassment. "I could, um...well, smell you, I guess." Shizuru's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that answer, and had no clue what to make of it, either. She was staring now at the floor, reminding the british woman of a puppy waiting for a punishment because it had done something wrong. It brought a small smile to her face, though she was unaware of it.

"Can you often do that with people you know?" she asked curiously, causing the younger girl to shrug, seeming very glad that Shizuru had not been disgusted by the admission.

"Usually only with people I...with my friends." She answered, and Shizuru found herself feeling strangely awkward having noticed the girl's near slip.

"That's very...different." she said finally, to break the silence.

"You mean weird." Natsuki said with a scowl.

"No, I meant exactly what I said." she replied, momentarily peeved.

"Sorry. Why are you all dressed up?" Natsuki changed the subject, and Shizuru sighed.

"This is what I feel most comfortable in." she answered honestly, and Natsuki grinned.

"Of course. It fits you. You look really nice, well..." she paused to giggle. "Mostly." Shizuru frowned.

"What do you mean?" Natsuki grinned and pointed to the wall mirror that was behind the british woman. She turned and huffed in exhasperation at her appearance. Her wet hair was extremely disheveled still, having forgotten to finish it once Natsuki had arrived.

"Your presence seems to make me forget myself." She mused, glancing at the girl behind her through the mirror as she blushed, and as always it brought a smile to the much older woman's face.

"Yeah, well, you make me into a stammering idiot." she muttered in irritation-at her own antics, most likely.

"Perhaps, but I find it absolutely endearing." the brunette woman said without thinking, causing Natsuki to duck her head in embarassment-still failing to hide the small smile. "Again, I say too much." Shizuru sighed, although she could not find it in herself to regret the latest slip.

"I don't mind that, either." Natsuki muttered quietly, her face scarlet as Shizuru left the room again to get a brush from her vanity and tame her normally curled hair. She dried it quickly, turning on the hair dryer although she didn't use it much-her abilities were very useful when it came to air-drying. Returning to the sitting room, she asked her new...friend what her pleasure for the evening might be. Natsuki laughed at that, earning a frown. "You really do talk like you hopped out of the middle ages or something, you know." she told the brunette, recieving a muttered "I am sorry" before continuing with a thick, very fake British accent, "But that is certainly all right, for I too find this habit of yours absolutely endearing." Shizuru smiled.

"I feel I should be insulted, but I am not." she mused.

"Good." Natsuki answered. "So...what might YOUR pleasure for the evening be, Miss Shizuru?" she asked, seeming to be in a playful mood all of the sudden. The british woman struggled for an answer before finally sighing and giving up, feeling frustratingly inadequate.

"I admit that I do not have many preferences. I have few friends to speak of, and do not do much outside of attending classes." she said, feeling small-another uncomfortable new experience. Natsuki's brows furrowed, and the older woman mused that she seemed fascinated by every word the younger girl spoke, every move she made-even down to these small facial expressions. She reminded herself again how unhealthy this fascination could be-for Natsuki.

"Okay, I don't get it. Did your parents keep you locked in a basement or something?" Shizuru raised her eyebrows.

"You could say that, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Because it wouldn't make sense otherwise. I mean, you are by far the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. There's no way you wouldn't be followed around by...well, everyone." she gushed cutely, and Shizuru again felt nonsensical embarassment. Of course she was unnaturally beautiful to Natsuki. The girl had never seen one of her kind, and their bodies, eyes, smiles, and voices were perfect hunting tools. They never went hungry for lack of willing food. Reguardless of this flawless logic, she found it extremely flattering that this particular girl found her beautiful-and again she replied honestly to her.

"Actually, I find people avoid me more often than not-yourself excluded, it seems." Natsuki seemed perplexed, but eventually shrugged.

"Maybe they're just intimidated."

"Perhaps." Shizuru answered, but thought absently that they probably just had good survival insincts. Then again, what did that say about this girl?

"To change the subject...again, do you have any ideas for tonight?" the younger girl asked, and Shizuru answered with a graceful shrug.

"I do not have any preferences, but I am sure that I would enjoy nearly anything as long as you are involved." she offered, again causing a blush to creep up Natsuki's face and a warm smile to answer in her own.

"Well, my friends did want me to meet them for lazer tag and pizza tonight, though I blew them off to come here instead. Do you, ah...think you'd like something like that?" she asked uncertainly, seeming to be expecting a negative answer or response. Shizuru found that endearing as well, and almost asked what this 'lazer tag' was before changing her mind. She felt silly enough already for being regularly out of date on every bit of information reguarding her supposed age group. She resolved that she would figure out what it was when they arrived there.

"I think I would very much enjoy it." she finally answered, earning a bright smile from the other girl.

"Great!" Natsuki exclaimed as she glanced at her watch before continuing, "but we only have an hour to get there, and you might want to change first...unless you think you can play in a dress." she said with a giggle, and the british woman inferred that though she could probably play in the dress (she could do just about anything in a dress) it would be unwise to do so.

"As you say." she answered and left the giggling girl to change into jeans and a t-shirt. The scruffy clothes always made her feel like some sort of street urchin, but others of her supposed age group disagreed and so she stood out less when she wore them. She re-entered the sitting room where Natsuki gave a small frown. "What is wrong? Have I dressed down too much?" she asked, suddenly self concious.

"No, it's not that," Natsuki replied quickly. "It's just, well, even when you 'dress down' like you call it, you're still so much prettier than anyone I've ever seen. I mean, girls' opinions of themselves must take a huge hit when you walk by." she said in attempt of explanation and the british woman shifted uncomfortably.

"I am sorry, I...I do not mean to look so...different." she said, feeling very ugly at the moment, even as she knew it was completely illogical.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to insult you or anything, it's just..." Natsuki started, frowned, and then continued, "Look, I'll just feel out of place standing next to you is all. It doesn't mean I won't enjoy the heck out of watching my friends faces when I introduce you to them or have fun hanging out with you." she tried to explain, and Shizuru relaxed slightly.

"All right, then." she conceded and offered the girl a smile, which was readily returned.

Yup...Shizuru's gonna go play some lazer tag. XD


	5. A Carriage Ride

Whoops! I screwed up. :( This was supposed to be the second half of the last chapter...sooo, as an apology, I'm going to post this one and the following chapter at the same time. Enjoy.

"Should I call us a cab? You said before that you didn't have a phone." Natsuki ventured, holding up her cellular. The taller woman gave her assent.

"I suppose yes, you should. Perhaps I should consider purchasing an automobile." She mused as Natsuki was dialing a number, and the younger girl had already let out a short burst of laughter at her word choice before she had even finished saying 'automobile'.

"You sound so serious and off-handed about it-like it only just occured to you and it's not ridiculously expensive to just 'purchase an automobile'." She explained with mirth (and maybe a little honest question) just before the cab company answered her call. She gave them directions to Shizuru's house. Hanging up the phone, she fixed her attention on Shizuru for a moment before asking, "You were serious, weren't you?" The statement was only half-question.

"Of course," Shizuru answered honestly, "I've never required an automobile before, but if we are to be visiting each other often, I am loathe to have you purchasing a cab each time." She offered, and when Natsuki attempted to argue, the brunette woman added, "At the very least, you must allow me to pay for half of the cab fares for each trip you make." The girl opened her mouth, closed it, and finally settled on giving her a strange look for a few moments before replying.

"Sure...I guess, if you insist. But you'd better not buy a car just so you can be my friend, either. That's stupid." She said, frowning as she looked up at the brunette girl. Shizuru smiled.

"I do not think it is so, but...all right, if you insist." She did not understand what the girl had against Shizuru spending her own money (maybe it was an American custom among friends, although it seemed sort of backwards to her), but she supposed she would respect her wishes. For the moment, anyway.

"Hey, so...ah, have you ever played Lazer Tag before?" Natsuki attempted at conversation, bringing a smile to Shizuru's face at the awkwardness of it.

"No, I have not. Is it difficult?" she asked, causing Natsuki to laugh again. She was not used to being laughed at, and though she thought she should be angry, she found herself both frustrated and pleased with her ability to keep a near-constant smile on the smaller girl's face.

"Not really. I mean, to win I guess it can be-but not to just play." she answered with a shrug.

"I see. I think that is true of most games, is it not?" she mused, picking her wallet up from her table and slipping it into a back pocket of her jeans. She had seen that many young women did not carry purses anymore, although this custom she did not mind in the least-she liked having both of her hands free. Perhaps paranoia as a result of the first fifty years of her new life caused the quirk, she thought dryly.

"I guess." Natsuki muttered with a shake of her head and a small smile. Shizuru smiled back, and upon hearing the cab pull up to her home, guestured to the door.

"I believe our ride is here." She said, and Natsuki startled when the driver used his horn to signal his arrival.

"How did you...oh, never mind..." she shrugged, seeming to get frustrated with her own thoughts. Shizuru held up Natsuki's jacket for her to slip into.

"Shall we?" she offered politely, and this caused Natsuki to blush madly.

"You don't have to, ah..." she stammered as she put her arms into her jacket.

"Oh, do not worry. It is my pleasure." Shizuru assured the red-faced girl, and held the door for her as they exited. The sun was down now, of course, and the british woman did not fail to notice the small shiver her companion gave as the cool evening air hit them. She herself could not feel cold, although feeling warmth was a luxury she and the rest of her kind could enjoy.

Natsuki shivered again, and when Shizuru wished she had another coat to drape about the girl's shoulders her mind took the opportunity to point out that she was behaving very much like a gentleman of her own age toward this girl. Her steps slowed for a moment and she frowned, wondering about this. Did that mean she was courting the younger girl? The much, much younger girl-she reminded herself dryly.

She certainly felt very protective of the girl, and thought of her as if she were fragile (although this was the truth when compared with her own strength) so perhaps this was simply how it was for one of her kind to have a human friend. She did not have anyone else to inquire about it to (and would not even try, they would all laugh at her), but she thought that if she were in fact chasing after the girl, then she might have had some more...intimate thoughts about things between herself and-her thoughts stopped abruptly as this thought caused her to picture and think of many things at once, many of which made her wish she could close her mind's eye in modesty, and a shiver coursed through her.

"Are you all right?" Natsuki turned around as she reached the sidewalk, finding Shizuru stopped a few paces behind her, staring at something (or into space). Jerking back into motion and giving an off-handed 'of course', the british woman hurried to open the door of the car before Natsuki could reach it. As Shizuru realized that this obligation had even overridden her confusion and embarassment, she had her answer about why exactly she felt so drawn to the bluenette. Looking back down into the car, she saw that the girl had scooted to the other side so that she would not have to walk around the car to get in.

"Thank you." She said graciously as she sat.

"Welcome." Natsuki replied and began giving directions to the driver which Shizuru did not hear because she had closed the door of the car and found herself in an enclosed space with the girl and her scent for the first time. She was staring intensely at the girl, who seemed to feel the gaze and turned to her with a question in her eyes.

"The window." the british woman said suddenly, feeling strangled. The driver looked at her strangely, and now Natsuki looked confused. This frustrated Shizuru, but she could not take her eyes away from those lovely green ones she was so focused on, but managed to elaborate, "Could you please put it down?" They still simply stared at her in confusion, and she turned suddenly to look at the driver-feeling nearly tangible pain as she tore her eyes from the younger girl's. "The window, please." she said, and a cold anger had this time leaked its way into her tone.

"Um, the button is right next to you." Natsuki interrupted, and Shizuru managed to follow her pointing hand to her door. She saw two switches there and hurriedly pushed the first, and upon hearing a clicking noise figured it was not what she was looking for, and successfully put down the window with the second switch. Fresh air flooded the cab and the brunette woman finally allowed herself to breathe. The driver stared at her for a moment longer before shaking his head and turning to pull away from the curb.

"Have you not been in a taxi before?" she asked with confusion, drawing Shizuru's attention back to her.

"Yes, but it was a long time ago." she answered, cursing inwardly at her too-quick honesty (again).

"Oh, then they still had those crank windows then, huh?" she rationalized, and if Shizuru were human, she might have sighed in relief-but as she no longer had to breathe, she would have had to do it intentionally (and why would she want to do that?).

"Yes, of course. I did not see a crank and assumed the driver must have the way to open the window." she took Natsuki's excuse gratefully.

"Geez. Imagine not knowing about power windows." the shorter girl said with quiet astonishment. "You are out of the loop." she said and then smiled with amusement. The brunette woman apologized again, but the girl shook her head and added, "It's okay! I think it's adorable." Shizuru did not agree.


	6. Lazer Tag!

I'm calling Yuuichi 'Tate' instead of Yuuichi, because all of these Americans have inexplicably Japanese names and at least if you mispronounce Tate it sounds kind of American. XD And it's time to meet the rest of the crew...Enjoy.

3456

Shizuru again held the door for Natsuki, who reddened at the treatment and then led the british woman to a large building with an obnoxious neon sign proclaiming itself a "Lazer Tag Arena". The brunette woman found herself already second-guessing her decision not to ask what this place was. Shizuru having paused at the door gave the younger woman the moment she needed to hold the door for the elder, who resisted the urge to giggle at the girl's large grin as she walked through.

A flash of agnonizing brightness later, Shizuru regretted agreeing to this. Her eyes were burning relentlessly, because all around this building were large blacklights. This was one of the most irritating inventions that humans had come up with-a few claiming to be 'hunters' of her kind (they were all destroyed with minimal effort) had originally created these things specifically to blind those like her. They released some kind of UV light that was much like the sun's. So, rooted in place she stood with her forearm shielding her eyes in front of the door.

"Are you okay?" Natsuki asked, concern heavy in her voice. Of course she must look very odd at the moment. She steeled herself, slowly lowered her arm, and then even more slowly opened her eyes to adjust to and bear with the pain. Her jaw was clenched very tightly, and her teeth hurt.

"I am fine, thank you. The light here just...hurts my eyes a bit." she lied, and was about to change the subject when a loud voice called,

"Hey, Natsuki!" The bluenette in question turned to face the source, a red(almost orange!)-headed girl with a large smile and bright blue eyes that suggested an easy life. There were two other girls and a boy with her; a dark-haired girl with honey-colored eyes who looked far too innocent, and a short girl with truly red hair and shrewd, piercing green eyes that narrowed the instant her eyes found Shizuru's. She seemed very familiar to the british woman, but she could not remember how. The boy was tall and well-built, with tausled dirty blond hair, and brown other two did not even look her way until Natsuki introduced her (a testament to the younger girl's magnetism).

"Hey, guys, and freakshow." Natsuki started, directing the second part to the short redhead who gave her a lewd gesture in return. "This's my new friend, Shizuru Viola." It was then that the others noticed her, and were visibly stunned. Situations like this were the reason the british woman did not like the attractiveness she had inherited from her master. The dark-haired girl only raised her eyebrows in confusion, but the blond's jaw might as well have been on the floor. The bright-eyed redhead was the fastest to recover, offering an open smile.

"Well enchente, madamoiselle." she began with a horrible excuse for a French accent, though Shizuru smiled nonetheless.

"Very charming." she answered warmly. This girl seemed very likeable, if a bit strange.

"I'm Mai." she said, then guestured at the blond, "This is my boyfriend Tate, and the other two are Nao and Mikoto." Each of them greeted her in their own way as they were named; Tate giving a sheepish wave (after replacing his jaw), Mikoto offering a large smile, and Nao a barely noticeable nod.

"So how did you two meet each other?" Nao asked as the group of them entered the line, eyeing the british woman suspiciously.

"Natsuki seemed to be in a...spot of trouble when I happened by and helped out, or at least I had intended to-she seems to have had everything quite under control in the end." Shizuru explained, and at the girl's curious look, Natsuki interrupted.

"We'll tell you about it at dinner. It's a long, interesting story." she said with an ominous smile that Shizuru couldn't help but giggle at. "What?" she pouted at the older woman, who gave a graceful shrug and smiled. Mai had reached the counter, and turned to hand them tickets. She froze with wide eyes when her gaze reached the brunette woman's eyes, however.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Check it out! Your eyes are glowing!" she cried, pointing for emphasis. Shizuru bit her tongue.

"What?" Natsuki questioned, and turned the british woman (who resisted the urge to slap her hand away in offense) around to face her. The older of the two froze yet again with wide eyes as the bluenette's eyes met hers-a problem she wasn't sure whether or not she minded-and seemed equally amazed. "They are! They're freakin' red! That is so cool." she said in awe, still staring into the frozen woman's eyes.

"Why?" Nao interjected, her tone of voice mimicking a frown. Shizuru wasn't seeing anything other than those brilliant green eyes, and could not get her mind to work quickly enough to come up with an answer. Fortunately, the short-haired girl Mikoto came to her rescue.

"Contacts?" she suggested, which caused Natsuki to look at her and free the british woman to answer far too quickly.

"Yes." Nao raised a brow at her hurried answer, but said nothing. Truth be told, Shizuru had not the slightest idea before this that her eyes glowed under this light. She avoided it like the plague, for obvious reasons.

"My contacts aren't glowing, are they?" Tate asked, and Nao smiled at his question, redirecting her full attention to the brunette woman.

"No, they aren't." She answered with a small smile as she stared at her. The british woman was beginning to dislike this girl.

"Perhaps these shine because they are the colored type?" she expanded on the earlier lie, and Natsuki frowned disappointedly. "The color is called "wine" I believe, but I had not seen much red at all in them before."

"That's not your real eye color?" asked the bluenette, and Shizuru wanted desperately to answer truthfully, but glanced then angrily at Nao and answered.

"No, it is not."

"Damn...I thought you had the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen." she pouted adorably as Mai led the way down a dark hallway. Shizuru lagged behind momentarily, stunned into silence by the girl's easy comment. She was sure she'd have a face the color of tomatoes if it were possible. At least in this hallway, she could see-she felt blind with those damned lights around. Catching up, she heard Mikoto innocently attempting to console Natsuki with a grin.

"Come on now, I bet her eyes are even prettier underneath." she said, and the bluenette brightened visibly for her friend's benefit.

"Yeah, I know...I'm just being weird. Forget it." she said apologetically as they finally came out of the hallway and into another open area with a counter. Employees began fitting Mai and Tate with strange vests and belts, then handed them toy guns. Shizuru stared without comprehension as she tried to understand what was supposed to happen here.

"Come on Viola!" Mikoto shouted at her, and she reluctantly stood next to her. She twitched when the employees started to fit her with the ridiculous outfit, and was sure she was obviously very uncomfortable with their nearness to her. A hand brushed her arm, leaving a trail of warmth, and turned her head to find Natsuki offering her a placating smile. She found herself relaxing against her will, and when they were finished she followed them into yet another room.

When all was dark save a few blacklights again, the brunette woman noticed flashing red circles on each of their chests and backs. When Mikoto jokingly pulled the trigger of her gun replica, a red light shone brightly in the circle on Mai's chest, and both the gun and circle made loud, irritating sounds.

"Mai wins every time." Natsuki leaned in to mutter with a hint of sulleness to Shizuru, who let a small smile creep over her features as she felt she might understand how this game was played.

"Does she?" she answered with quiet mirth, and the bluenette raised a brow at her. She decided that if the light in the next room were as dim as the light here, she might have some fun after all. Her eyes hurt pretty badly from the dim blacklight, but she could see now.

"Well, I always get a close second." she added defensively. "Mai's just really good at hiding from me for some reason." The british woman chuckled, and her shorter companion scowled.

She jumped when a loud alarm sounded and a door was opened in front of them. The others ran inside, disappearing behind large, faux walls, and Shizuru entered as well, albeit at a slower pace. Glancing around, she saw that it was indeed dim in here-or perhaps not so dim, but the large room had very high ceilings and was filled with faux fog that diluted the offending light. The british woman scented the air, and calmly walked in Mai's direction. She wasn't sure how scores were counted, but she surmised that she would come out above Mai if she made her vest flash more often than anyone made her own flash. She heard Tate give a yell from around the next corner and stopped. She then leaned a few inches around, pulled her replica's trigger twice, and went back into hiding. She smiled at Tate and Mai's cries of disapproval and confusion and then set off in another direction, hoping to circle around them.

She ran into Mikoto after Mai had twice shot her, and when the dark-haired girl shot at her, the british woman spun quickly around the corner to avoid it, the put her arm around to shoot the spot where she had just been standing. The irritating sound coming from her vest confirmed that she hadn't moved. Of course she hadn't thought to do so-this was a game, not life and death. Shizuru heard again that offending sound, this time coming from her own vest and turned with a scowl to find Nao smiling demurely at her from a perch on a pretend...bridge, she supposed it was. The girl disappeared around a corner, and the british woman huffed. She did not like the look she had been given, and felt that in a way, even if only metaphorically, this had been some kind of threat. Shizuru did not take kindly to threats-even small ones, she took very seriously.

She heard Mai and Tate again at the other end of the maze and moved toward them. Before she caught up, she heard someone around the next corner and stopped. Leaning around it, she prepared to fire upon whoever it was, but stopped when she caught Natsuki's scent. She sighed when she heard the signal telling her "you have been pretend-shot" a second time.

"Gotcha!" Natsuki laughed, disappearing the way she came with a bounce in her step (one that Shizuru observed very closely and without shame). Grinning, the british woman gave chase, but lost her scent when she came around a corner and ended up face-to-face with a large blacklight. She cried out in pain (although it must have sounded more like a snarl), dropped her gun replica to cover her eyes, and stumbled backward. She froze when she heard a deep voice from almost right on top of her say,

"Don't move." It did not register to Shizuru that this was Tate's voice or that this was a pretend-game, as she was dazed and in pain. Instead, she simply reacted, turning around and lifting him against the wall by his throat in one fluid motion. When he cried out as he hit the wall however, she came to her senses and dropped him as if his skin had burnt her.

"I am so sorry!" she cried, pouring all of the earnesty she could muster into her voice and eyes (even if she didn't feel sorry at all). He looked at her with panicked eyes, and wandered in the opposite direction, muttering.

"It's okay...go on and finish the game." Not knowing what else to do in response, Shizuru obeyed, picked up her weapon, and moved toward Mai's scent. She still harbored some hope of winning, after all.

She reached her holding Mikoto in a cornered position, and shot her three more times before she found the brunette skating around the edges of her vision (she was a considerable distance away), and she circled the area again to hit Mikoto before heading in the other direction. She again came around a corner to find Natsuki's back to her, but this time harbored no notions that she'd be able to point even a replicated weapon at her. When she finally turned to notice Shizuru, she spun around and pointed her pretend weapon at the woman.

"Why don't you shoot at me?" Natsuki asked with a half-smile. The brunette woman shrugged.

"Because I do not want to." she answered honestly. They looked at each other for a moment longer before Shizuru caught a scent rounding the corner behind her. She spun to press the barrel of her gun to Nao's forehead. The action caused the girl to stumble back a step, giving the british woman a moment to realize she needed to shoot the target, not the girl's head-she did so just before an alarm sounded that signaled the end of the game. She hoped that between what Shizuru had done (accidentally or not) with the gun replica against her forehead a moment ago that Nao had gotten the response to her percieved threat clearly.


	7. Dinnertime

Thanks for the reviews, guys! Updates probably going to come slower now, because I've caught up to myself. D: Minera, you did indeed make my day. :D

Enjoy.

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"Shooting her in the head won't work, you know." Natsuki said from over her shoulder, surprising the british woman.

"I must have gotten a little excited and forgotten." she said lightly, turning to smile at Natsuki. The younger girl rolled her eyes and led Shizuru out of the maze.

"Darnit, Viola!" Mai cried in frustration. "You're really good at this! I never saw you coming!" she gushed, and Shizuru grinned sheepishly.

"But I am not as talented as you are." she assumed (she couldn't have won), but the redhead frowned.

"You got eight hits to my seven! And you only got hit three times to my five! You won!" she explained, finally cluing the british woman in on the scoring methods.

"I suppose I am not so bad at this game after all." she said with a small grin.

"Geez. I couldn't keep up with you long enough to hit you." Mai grumbled. "Who DID get you?" she questioned, scanning the monitor.

"What? Nao! She never hits anybody. She just shows up because we blackmail her! She never even plays. I mean, I get Natsuki, she's a sneaky little stalker." she raged (although not seriously). "Nao? She just stands somewhere giving herself a manicure! TWICE, she hit you twice!"

"Hey, I do not." Nao defended.

"Do so. When'd you catch Viola, anyway?" Tate asked of Natsuki, as he walked up, rubbing a sore neck.

"I didn't. She caught ME twice, but didn't shoot me." she said, looking at Shizuru with a grin. "I bet you've never even played before, am I right?"

"What!" Mai cried indignantly. "I just got stomped at my favorite game by a n00b!" Shizuru blinked rapidly. She had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"I am sorry, I, ah..." she struggled.

"You were really good at sports in high school, right! Nao spat, walking up with Mikoto trailing behind.

"Well, yes, actually." the british woman recovered, smiling. Nao scoffed.

"Convenient."

"Man, I'm hungry." Mikoto interrupted, and Shizuru gave her a thankful smile, which she returned.

"Yeah! I want to hear this story of Natsuki's anyway." Mai agreed.

"Pizza?" Tate offered.

"Yeah!" Natsuki agreed, and they were off again. The group shared two taxis, and though Shizuru offered to pay for both they only allowed her to pay for the one she rode in.

"Let me at least get my own share." Natsuki huffed cutely, and the british woman smiled mischeviously.

"But I would feel very honored to finance your ride completely, Natsuki. Won't you allow me this pleasure?" she made herself sound very earnest, as if she would be hurt by refusal-and as expected, Alicia's face turned very red.

"W-well..." she started, and then seemed to find something very interesting on the floor. "Never met anyone who liked spending money so much..." she muttered to no one in particular.

"Never met someone who got so upset over a free ride before." Mai mocked her. "I am a-okay with it." she said, grinning at Shizuru.

"Why thank you, Miss Mai." she said, and Mai smiled sheepishly. She liked this girl best of all Natsuki's friends and hoped she would not end up causing her pain. Upon thinking that, her throat started to burn, and her canines to ache. She would have to eat soon, or else her instincts would choose her food for her-and other than that Nao girl, Shizuru didn't want to hurt any of Natsuki's friends-and especially not Natsuki.

"Are you okay?" the brunette asked as the Taxi came to a stop. Shizuru damned the girl's intense and constant evaluation of her well-being again, but stepped out of the car to take a deep breath and replied.

"Yes, I am now." Natsuki stepped out, and watching Shizuru closely, asked,

"Are you claustrophobic or something?" The brunette woman raised a brow.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, everytime we're in a car or small space, you seem really uncomfortable." The bluenette said awkwardly, and Shizuru raised both eyebrows.

"You watch me very closely." She smiled, and the younger girl went red again.

"Uh...sorry."

"It's quite all right. I just felt a bit crowded tonight. I am not used to being near so many people. I am enjoying myself very much however-you are a very good hostess." Natsuki stayed red, frowning at her inability to quell her embarassment, and Shizuru's smile just got wider.

"Uh, thanks...it's just...I like you and wanted to make sure you had fun." she confessed, an adorable air of frailty about her as she did so. The british woman placed her palm on the younger girl's cheek without thinking, smiling in earnest.

"I have not had so much fun in years. Your presence has a very comfortable effect on me, Natsuki." she assured her. "I only hope I am not so...strange that I scare you away." she confessed in return, and Natsuki stepped in close.

"I don't think you could scare me off if you tried." she said quietly, and with defiance. She was unconciously leaning into the brunette woman's touch. Shizuru begged to differ on that scaring subject, but did not voice her opinion as Natsuki leaned toward her and she lost her ability to move or think properly. Closer came the gorgeous young girl, and more wild became Shizuru's thoughts.

"Natsuki..." she whispered, the girl's lips inches from her own.

"Whoaaaaa. Awkwaard." Mai interrupted, causing Natsuki to stumble backward in surprise at her own actions and Shizuru to supress a snarl.

"I'm...I didn't mean to...oh, hell-I'm really sorry!" Natsuki stammered and ran inside, leaving Shizuru frozen on the pavement.

"Darn. I really didn't mean to interrupt..." Mai offered, her palms up in complascence.

"I know." the british woman replied, although what she really wanted to do is tear the girl's head off (although she could not articulate the reasons for this). "I'm not quite sure what it was that you were interrupting, at any rate. I think I have upset Natsuki somehow..." she thought aloud, and Mai laughed.

"You know, you really are the perfect girl. If you weren't so focused on Natsuki, I'd try fixing you up with some friends." she joked, and Shizuru looked at her for the first time.

"I'm flattered, but what do you mean by 'focused'?" she asked.

"You don't pay attention to anything but her-like, I don't know, everything else is just background noise when she's around." she tried to explain. "And I've never seen her watch anyone the way she watches you, either. I don't think it was you who upset her, I think it was herself." she finished. Shizuru found herself smiling.

"You are very wise for your age, Mai."

"Aren't you younger than me?"

"Yes, and you are much wiser than I as well."

"You do talk weird."

"I am sorry."

"It's okay. Hey, if you ever need to talk to somebody, or you need help, just let me know, huh?" she offered, and Shizuru gave her a rare genuine smile.

"I will. Thank you very much, Miss Mai." she replied.

"Good. Let's go eat."

"Are you sure I should not go home? She is not angry with me?" Shizuru said, suddenly feeling very wary.

"Positive. You're not allowed to wuss out." she said with a grin.

"All right." Shizuru followed the redhead inside.

Like most pizza parlours, this one was lit dimly to offer a quiet, friendly atmosphere. The rest of the group was already seated in a large corner booth, talking animatedly. Fortunately, Natsuki was smiling and laughing as well. Mai lead the way to the table while Shizuru put a hand to her throat, swallowing painfully-the horrid smell of food blocked the smell of the humans eating there-but she was still in pain. The lights earlier had taken her strength, and she had not been surrounded by so many humans in a great while. She was not used to controlling her instincts like this. Mai moved to sit next to Tate in the booth, but Natsuki grabbed her wrist and sat her next to herself as she met Shizuru's eyes uncomfortably. Her face turned redder than it had ever been and she looked back toward the rest of the group, trying to pretend she hadn't done it. The brunette woman frowned, feeling slighted and moved to Tate.

"May I sit?" she asked, and she stopped talking to laugh.

"Come on, you don't have to ask." he said with a smile, and she sat.

"I apologize." she offered.

"You have way too many manners." Tate joked, then shushed her when she made to apologize again. What did these people want from her anyway?

"We usually get pepperoni and sausage. Is that okay with you?" Mikoto thought to ask as the waiter approached.

"Oh yes, it is fine. I am not feeling particularly hungry at the moment at any rate." she explained, and now the waiter was looking at her strangely too. The scent of human was getting heavier each second.

"Okay." Mikoto replied, and Mai looked at her.

"You sound a little raspy. Is your throat sore?" she asked, and the british woman scowled.

"It is not your business." She said, feeling as if she might hurt one of them soon. "Excuse me." she stood quickly and moved toward the lavatory. When she got inside, she glanced around, finding a small, very high window on the far wall. "Of course." she muttered. At least there was no one else in the bathroom and the window was blocked by one of the stalls. She unclasped the lock and popped out the screen. She had nearly sunk teeth into Mai a moment ago, and could think of only this to meet her current needs without being horribly obvious. Just before she pulled herself through the window, Natsuki opened the lavatory door.

"Shizuru?" she called quietly, and the british woman pressed her back flush against the wall and tried not to breathe as she came closer. "Are you all right?" she asked with confusion as she saw the brunette woman watching her with wide eyes. When she noticed that the woman was cowering, she stopped, looking hurt. "I'm...um...I'm really sorry." she said miserably, her eyes focused on the floor. "I...I promise I won't do it again...It was an accident." she continued as Shizuru fought not to take her then and there-no one would notice, and she could dispose of her body before the others came to look for her. She was also fairly certain that none of them knew where she lived or went to school..."Shizuru?" Natsuki's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she chastised herself. Was her will so weak?

"Do not apologize." She whispered, not trusting her voice-it would probably sound inhuman at the moment. "It is not your fault that I am unwell, I only need a moment to myself. I will rejoin you soon." she forced out, and Natsuki looked up at her with fear in her eyes that caused the british woman pain in her chest-her heart?

"Promise?" she asked, and Shizuru felt she would come undone. She had to get out of this place, right now.

"I swear it. Now please go." she finally said, and the girl nodded and retreated, leaving Shizuru alone at last. She disappeared out the window immediately, pushing herself up into the night. Luckily, it only took her fifteen minutes to locate a man who reeked of sin. She put him in a temporary hiding spot to be disposed of later, and returned to the parlour. Just as she was fastening the clasp on the window, she heard the door close. She spun, looking for who had seen her, but they were gone. However, upon scenting the air, she caught not only Natsuki's scent, but Nao's as well. The brunette woman had a feeling that she would have to do something about this damn girl soon, one way or the other. Re-entering the dining room, she found Nao just taking her seat, staring straight at her with a smug smile on her face. Shizuru smiled back, and finding that Mai had moved to her seat next to Tate, sat next to Natsuki.

"Food's here." Tate said, offering the british woman a slice of pizza.

"I'm not hungry, thank you." She declined politely. She sipped the soda they had bought her, regretting it immediately as she felt nauseated-but she thought she was being a bit conspicuous as it was not eating the pizza.

"Are you sure?" Natsuki questioned. "You haven't eaten all night."

"Yes...I think perhaps tonight was so filled with excitement that I have lost my appetite." she lied with a placating grin, which the younger girl returned.

Aaand, for anyone curious about the final score:

Shizuru - 8

Mai - 7

Natsuki - 6

Nao & Tate - 4

Mikoto - 3

Also, if anyone has any real title ideas, I'd love to hear them. I can't think of a darn thing (which is why it's called Another One!).


	8. It's Her Turn

Yaaaawn. I'm very busy lately and getting no sleep. I try vewwy hard to update well for joo guys cause some of you seem to enjoy reading it even more than I enjoy writing it. Which is good...but makes me feel this annoying ping of responsibility. It'll probably be more than a week before I can get any more done. Sorry. Enjoy.

Oh, and no werewolves! No wai.

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Natsuki and her friends talked about many inconsequential things while they ate, asking for Shizuru's opinion here and there but not asking much in the way of reply, and altogether the british woman found the easy friendship they shared and offered very attractive. She reiterated to herself for the tenth time that one could not be friends with food, to no avail. She was enjoying herself for the first time in a century, and was far too selfish to deny herself that. She suddenly missed Reito, who had been her friend since she was alive, and remained her only one. She did not regret saving him from the plague in the least-and he seemed to very much enjoy his new life, anyway. She had not, however, seen him since she came to America some fifty years ago. She knew that right now he would try to talk some sense into her, and sense was something she seemed to have been missing since she laid eyes on the beautiful girl sitting next to her now. Realizing that Natsuki was now recounting the story of their meeting, she rejoined the conversation.

"Ooh, so Shizuru went all 'knight in shining armor' and saved you from the bad guys?" Mai was saying with a grin. Nao laughed obnoxiously.

"You're a damsel in distress." said the girl, laughing and guesturing. Natsuki glared at her.

"I am not a damsel and I wasn't in that much distress, damnit! She just distracted him for a second so I could throttle him, is all!" she defended herself, her cheeks reddening. Shizuru couldn't help the smile on her face. This girl was too adorable.

"What's a damsel?" Mikoto stopped eating to ask, and the group stared at her for a moment before sharing more laughter. It was then that Shizuru noticed Nao staring at her with a smirk.

"So where did you go when you went to the bathroom?" Nao asked once everyone had quieted, and now everyone was looking at the brunette. She frowned.

"What do you mean, exactly?" she asked as if she had no idea what the redhead meant. The girl frowned and began to reply when Mai cut her off.

"Man, it's getting late already." she said, and Shizuru noticed that she was giving Nao a look that did not fit her kind demeanor. Tate agreed with a well-timed yawn. Shizuru felt it was still early, but said nothing-and she was very grateful for the interruption.

"I'm not tired at all." Natsuki pouted.

"We can't help it you take night classes and sleep all day. Some of us have regular schedules, you know." Nao siad with a grin. Natsuki scowled at her.

"And by 'some of us', you're obviously not including yourself." the bluenette retorted, and they glared at each other until Natsuki finally relented. "You guys suck. College kids aren't supposed to be tired before midnight." she whined, and Mai laughed.

"Maybe on your planet they don't." she said. Tate collected money from everyone at the table except Shizuru, whose money he refused.

"You didn't eat any." he said in explanation, ignoring her protests and leaving themto get the bill. While they walked outside, Mai hung back to walk next to Nao, and Shizuru could hear them talking.

"I need to talk to you alone." Mai said seriously, and Nao scoffed.

"What is it now? You going to fire me for the new model?" she spat, and Mai sighed.

"Of course not. I just need to talk to you. You'll ride with me and we'll drop Tate off." she said, and the way she said it left no room for argument. As they waited outside for the taxis and Shizuru pondered at the conversation she had just overheard, Natsuki stepped up next to her.

"I guess you're probably tired too, huh?" she asked, and the pathetic way in which she asked caused Shizuru to giggle. The younger girl frowned.

"Quit laughing at me." The brunette quieted herself.

"I am sorry. And no, I am not tired. I take night classes as well. I am a...night person in general, I suppose." she offered and the bluenette grinned.

"Do you want to walk back, then?" she asked, and Shizuru smiled. It was a long walk, but with the younger girl it would be enjoyable.

"That sounds lovely." she replied, and they stood there smiling at each other for a moment.

"Hi, we're still here." Tate said with a grin, causing them both to look at him suddenly-his grin faltered.

"Indeed you are." was Shizuru's reply, and Nao sniggered. "I'd like to thank all of you very much for being so kind tonight. It was very nice to meet all of you." she offered, and Tate smiled.

"Oh, it was no problem." he said.

"Just promise to come out with us again sometime." Mai said with earnesty (was it faked, she wondered?) and Shizuru nodded.

"I would very much like that." she answered, and after Natsuki said her goodbyes, the others climbed into taxis and left. "Alone at last." Shizuru attempted to jest, but the blush on the younger girl's face said that she didn't take it that way.

"Hey, um...about earlier," the bluenette started slowly, but the british woman cut her off.

"Please stop apologizing. Not only have you done nothing to offend me, but I am also not even sure what you think you have done to offend me." she said earnestly, and Natsuki stopped walking to stare at her.

"But...I almost..." she tried to say, seeming to lose her ability to continue. "I...uh..."

"You are very articulate, are you not?" Shizuru attempted to lighten the mood. Natsuki forcefully bumped shoulders with her, scowling.

"Jerk." she said quietly and without real anger. They walked along quietly, although not uncomfortably for some time before either of them felt the need to speak. "So, uh...who are your friends?" Natsuki finally asked, prompting Shizuru to quirk an eyebrow at her. "You know, who do you usually hang out with? I know you said you didn't have many friends, but..." The british woman stopped walking, and Natsuki frowned, turning to face her. "What? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorr-"

"You see, when I said I didn't have many friends...what I should have said that I had none. I am sorry, but at the time I did not want to confess that I have not lived here but for six months and so I do not know a great many people." she babbled, feeling horribly embarrassed all of the sudden.

"Oh, I get it." Natsuki said after staring at her with a strange expression for a moment, and they began walking again. "What about where you lived before? Did you have friends there?"

"I had many acquaintances in London, but only one person whom I would call 'friend'." She answered honestly, though not sure why she was doing so. Perhaps because she had missed him earlier she wanted to speak about him now.

"What was that person like?" Natsuki seemed very interested, and this only served to confuse the british woman.

"Well, I...ah, don't know how to describe Reito, really...we grew up together and spent many nights just out walking and talking (although he did most of the talking, she noted to herself), and he has always been around to aid me if and when I had a need. He could be frustrating at times though." she added. Natsuki raised her eyebrows.

"How's that?" the dark-haired girl questioned.

"He was always very...ah, he loved to tease me for any reason he could come up with." she admitted curtly. Natsuki laughed, causing the british woman to look over at her with a frown. "What?"

"The way you said that sounds like it's almost enough to hate him for." she said, and Shizuru frowned.

"Well, sometimes it can be nearly enough. If you knew him,"

"I'd like to know him." she said suddenly. Shizuru looked at her.

"Why?"

"You grew up together, right?" she asked. The british woman nodded, puzzled.

"Since we were very small children."

"Then he's been with you long enough to know all your secrets." she said with a grin, and Shizuru's eyes widened. This was not a healthy thought for the gorgeous young woman to be having.

"Natsuki-"

"Oh, don't be so serious. I'm sure he wouldn't give up all his teasing ammunition, anyway. If he's like you say...but it was a fun thought." she explained, and Shizuru stared at her. "And how DO you do that?" she asked.

"What?" she huffed for the third time in as many minutes.

"Look like you're really embarassed without actually blushing?" The girl asked, as if it were a secret she would give much to obtain. If there was a way to teach her, Shizuru would not do it-she loved the way the girl blushed so easily. She didn't suppose it would be prudent to explain that it was because she could not blush unless she had very recently fed very fully, and so this question only served to make her feel even more awkward.

"I do not know." she muttered with a frown, staring intently at the sidewalk.

"It's so adorable." the girl next to her said quietly and as if she had not meant to say so aloud, and Shizuru nearly stumbled (quite a feat for one of her kind). Natsuki looked at her strangely.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to say that...it just kind of came out." she muttered, and the older woman stared at her.

"I will come undone..." she finally muttered. "You flatter me too much. You may, of course, say anything you wish." she finally recovered. The younger girl grinned.

"Or maybe not quite enough." Shizuru wondered if the girl was intentionally keeping her in a state of perpetual embarassment now.

"Well, now that you've had your turn at questioning me, I believe that for fairness' sake it is your turn." she said with a smile, hoping it would be her turn to make the bluenette blush.

"I guess you're right. So, shoot." she answered, seeming to steel herelf for the worst. Shizuru smiled, and then gave the girl a serious expression.

"First, I must ask...what is your favourite colour?" the younger girl twitched, and with an amused grin, replied.

"Dark red." she said, and as an afterthought, "You know, like your eyes. That red." this sent Shizuru into another fit of embarassment, and she frowned. This of course amused Natsuki endlessly. She struggled for another question to change the subject.

"Well, I have met your friends, I suppose-I thank you again for that-but how about your family? What are they like?" Now Natsuki seemed to go quiet in contemplation.

"Well, I never knew my father, and my mother died in some weird accident when I was little, so I'm not really sure." she said quietly, and Shizuru felt very low.

"I am sorry if I have touched upon a sore subject. It was not my intention." the british woman said in obligation.

"Nah, I'm not really sad about it anymore, I guess. I remember that my mother was very warm and kind, but that's it. If I cant remember much, why get all depressed over near-strangers, right?" she said with a wry grin.

"That is a very mature way to think about it, I suppose." Shizuru complimented, and Natsuki laughed.

"Well, I AM an adult." she defended.

"Of course." was the reply, and Natsuki huffed.

"You do that a lot."

"What do I do?" the confused woman questioned.

"Make it seem like I'm so much younger than you?" she said, and Shizuru sighed.

"I do not mean to, but sometimes I feel as if I am so very...old." she said honestly.

"It's okay, I guess. I think it's one of the reasons I'm all fascinated with you." the bluenette explained. Again, Shizuru did not blush but thought that she might feel less uncomnfortable if she could.

"Hello there, sister. Would you mind sharing?" a male voice with a thick Russian accent said, snapping Shizuru's head up suddenly. She had been so wrapped up in Natsuki that she had not felt him coming. She cursed inwardly-she was going to get herself (or worse, Natsuki) killed if this lack of attention on her part continuted.

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Bom bom boooom. Suspense!


	9. Inconveniences

Hi. Thanks for the reviews...again. 33 Enjoy.

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"Hello there, sister. Would you mind sharing?" a male voice with a thick Russian accent said, snapping Shizuru's head up suddenly. She had been so wrapped up in Natsuki that she had not felt him coming. She cursed inwardly-she was going to get herself (or worse, Natsuki) killed if this lack of attention on her part continued. She hadn't even realized they had turned to walk through an alley! Shizuru must have had quite an expression on her face, because the russian felt the need to continue before she had responded. "My apologies, sister-but I'm passing through, and only just realized this was now an occupied territory. I do need sustenance, of course, so I have decided to stick to formalities and humbly requesting permission to...pass through your area, and take what I need while I am here." he had paused when Shizuru had glanced at Natsuki, seeming to realize that she did not want certain things said in her presence, although he seemed very confused. "Though...if you don't mind sharing that one, I won't be a bother for any longer than that." he spoke cordially, polite enough, but that did nothing to stop the seething anger rising in the brunette at the suggestion that Natsuki was food. It was a completely logical assumption on his part, of course, and therefore a very illogical reaction on the british woman's. "Whoa, whoa. You seem angry, sister. Have I not been polite? Then, perhaps-" he began, but Natsuki chose this time to stop being surprised.

"Who are you? Shizuru, do you know this guy?" She said, looking back and forth between the two of them. Shizuru stepped in close to the younger girl and slightly in front of her as the russian scowled at her interruption. As she took this traditional stance of protection, his face blanked and his eyebrows raised in question. Before he could speak, Shizuru answered him.

"You have indeed been very polite, formal, and proper-and I thank you for that-but I must also ask you to leave." she said steadily. The man instead came closer.

"Very pretty and of impeccable manners. Not strong, but very graceful. Tawny hair with eyes of a color not even we can normally boast of, and of course, from England. You couldn't be Arturius' Lady Viola, could you now?" he said, shocking the woman in question. She had not heard that name in nearly a century, and she did not miss hearing it either. Natsuki chose this moment to link her arm in Shizuru's, causing her to feel dizzied for a moment. Apparently the girl's survival instinct was not broken, after all. She seemed worried, and chose wisely to stay quiet for the time being.

"I do not belong to Arturius." she answered darkly, and even Natsuki could hear the anger hiding beneath the light, calm tone she used. The stranger suddenly put his hands up, palms forward in a sign of placation.

"No, I don't suppose you do-not anymore, at least. I haven't come to fight, sister, or to insult you. I'm only hungry and attempting to observe the correct formalities to avoid such a confrontation. My masters would not be pleased with me." he tried, looking at Natsuki as if she were a strange new object that he would like to take apart and figure out. The girl in question involuntarily tensed up, and her eyes looked to Shizuru's. The british woman watched her for a moment, and then turned her attention again to the Russian.

"She is NOT here for that, sir-if you do not wish to quarrel with me, it would be in your best interest to be gone presently." she spoke with gritted teeth, and a strong gust of wind blasted down the alley. She did not like the way the russian was watching her Natsuki (had she just thought that?) and when angry, her control tended to slip. This gust did not go unnoticed, and the russian took several steps back, hands still up in placation.

"Deepest apologies, sister. May I then find you when you are not otherwise occupied so that we may speak alone?" he offered, seeming to finally realize what the problem was and giving her a small smile, which Shizuru frowned at.

"Yes." she said quickly. Anything to get him away from Natsuki.

"I thank you, then." he said and turned the corner at the opposite end of the alley, disappearing. Shizuru stared after him with a flat expression on her face for too long, and Natsuki gave a light tug to the brunette woman's sleeve. She looked suddenly down at her, and the younger woman gave a small start.

"Uh...who was...what...Shizuru, who are you?" she finally settled on her question, and Shizuru felt something in her chest clench painfully when she met the girls confused and pleading eyes. When Shizuru said nothing for too long again, the girl's eyes narrowed at her, and her chest clenched again.

"Is that...my heart?" she whispered without realizing she was speaking aloud, raising a hand to her chest uncertainly. Natsuki looked at the brunette's hand and again met Shizuru's eyes with her own that were wide and confused again. "I am...unable to explain to you what has just happened." Shizuru whispered, not trusting her voice. "I am so very sorry, Natsuki. I cannot." she said, and the bluenette's eyes narrowed again. She was silent for several moments, and the british woman felt fear for some reason that she could not understand or explain.

"You acted like that guy might attack me." Natsuki finally said, and now the brunette was confused. "You were protecting me?" she said, and Shizuru frowned.

"Yes." she said slowly and with suspicion. She was not sure where this was going and was wholly uncomfortable with the situation.

"If you can't tell me anything, then I'm sure you've got good reasons, right?" she finally said, shrugging, and Shizuru stared at her in disbelief. "Though I can totally take care of myself, you know." she added quickly, probably to placate her pride. The british woman forced her gaze away from those captivating eyes. She could not understand why the girl wasn't angry with her, or afraid, or anything she should rightly be. Shizuru was afraid for her though, even if she was not for herself. She would not allow anything to happen to the girl.

"Natsuki...I am a very dangerous friend for you to have. Perhaps-" she started.

"Oh no, you don't." the younger girl interrupted, irritation in her voice. "Don't you pull that let's stop seeing each other for your own good crap on me." she raged. Shizuru blanched, and out of surprise, reverted to teasing.

"Seeing...?" she said, and Natsuki scoffed, her face scarlet.

"You know what I meant." she muttered, still clinging to the brunette's arm without realizing it.

"Natsuki..." she started painfully, and the girl shook her head, her grip tightening on Shizuru's arm.

"No." the british woman didn't know what the girl was answering with that denial, but she decided it was best not to ask-the girl's closeness was impeding her judgement and focus anyway. "Shizuru..." she whispered, and a shiver ran up the older woman's spine. "I...think I...I really like you, I think." she stammered, and this caused the brunette to look suddenly down at her, and she found their faces once again mere inches apart. She could feel Natsuki's breath on her cheek.

"You're very warm." Shizuru said without thinking first, and frowned. "That is not what I...ah, I find myself speechless for the first time in my adult life." she muttered with frustration, and Natsuki giggled. Another shiver wracked the british woman's frame. She liked that sound very, very much.

"Just don't ditch me out of some weird...chivalry...thing, okay?" she asked seriously, and Shizuru frowned.

"I do not believe it is possible for me to deny you anything. Especially when you have me in such a...vulnerable position." the british woman said wryly, averting her eyes. This earned another giggle.

"I guess that means you kinda like me too, huh?" she said playfully, and Shizuru sighed.

"I think that 'like' might be too light a word. It is getting rather late, lovely one. Perhaps we should be getting you home?" the british woman offered, and the blush Natsuki gave her at the pet name was worth the night full of her own awkwardness. She resolved to do it as often as possible.

"I don't think I want to go home." Natsuki pouted, and the brunette smiled at her mischeviously.

"I would take you home with me, but it may be too soon for something like that, do you think?" Natsuki hid her face against Shizuru's shoulder forcefully as they began walking again in the direction of the younger girl's apartment.

"Jerk." she muttered. The rest of the walk was passed in a pleasant silence, but as they approached Natsuki's apartment, she looked suddenly distressed and stopped. "That weird guy. He said you'd talk later." she said with a frown. Shizuru was confused.

"Yes." Natsuki narrowed her eyes.

"Will you?"

"Unfortunately." Shizuru answered honestly, although for some reason this answer seemed to lessen the tension in the younger girl's frame.

"I don't like him...what if he tries to hurt you?" she asked, and Shizuru smiled a smile that Natsuki had never seen before, and with it came a shiver down her spine that was not even a little bit pleasant.

"If he does, then he will fail." she said with a flat voice, and Natsuki believed her. The younger girl watched her quietly for a few moments, and then seemed to realize they were standing at her front door.

"Um...thanks for...putting up with me all night." the bluenette said with a sheepish smile. Shizuru gave her an amused grin.

"Putting up with you? Ah, but I have not had such a pleasant night in years, you lovely girl. (Here was that beautiful blush again.) I only pray that you will acquiesce to many more." she said a fair bit too theatrically, reveling in the girl's shifty embarassment.

"Well, aren't you a smooth talker?" Natsuki said dryly as she realized she was being teased, and Shizuru grinned.

"You seem to like it." the girl frowned in response, seemed to consider something, and then responded.

"Yeah, I do...don't I?" she said as if to herself, and the british woman finally had the courage to say what was on her mind.

"May I ask one very selfish thing of you, Natsuki?" she suddenly said in a very serious tone. The bluenette looked up at her curiously.

"You may ask." she replied.

"Please...would you refrain from going out alone at night without my company?" Natsuki was stricken by the sudden vulnerability in the older woman's voice, but attempted to lighten things with a small smile.

"If you're with me, I wouldn't be alone." she joked, but Shizuru did not smile.

"Yes." she answered. The girl raised her eyebrows and considered something for a moment.

"Okay, but if you plan to lock me away for too long, you're going to have to tell me why eventually. For now, I want you to answer just one question for me." she finally said, raising a brow and crossing her arms at the end as if daring Shizuru to refuse. The brunette woman was sure she would have to refuse to answer the question or lie, but also didn't see a reason not to let the girl ask it anyway.

"Ask."

"Who is Arturius?" one question Shizuru had not expected, and the mention of his name caused her to scowl. Of all the things to ask, why this question? Because perhaps it was the only one that she thought Shizuru might actually answer for her? "You hate him, whoever he is-don't you?" she astutely observed. The british woman decided to answer as honestly as possible, at any rate.

"You are far too observent, pretty one." she muttered in defeat, and Natsuki shrugged.

"Only of you." she answered off-handedly, although that admission embarassed Shizuru horribly.

"You could call him a...step-father of sorts. He...raised me." she answered as close to truth as she could manage. "That is all I can say, I am afraid." she finished. She found herself disliking half-truths almost as much as lies yet again. Suddenly, Natsuki was all she could feel, smell, see, or hear, and it took her several moments to realizing that she was recieving a hug-she couldn't remember the last one she had recieved (probably from Reito a century ago when he was still soft). Hesitantly, she brought her own arms around the girl who had effortlessly torn her whole world apart in only two nights. She did not think even He could have done such a thing.

"But he's far away now, right?" Natsuki said to her quietly, and with conviction, "He can't bother you anymore." she said, and the gentleness in her voice would have had Shizuru crying if it were possible so late in the evening. Instead, she simply gave the smaller girl a grateful squeeze before releasing her and stepping back. Her head was beginning to ache-and that always shook the british woman's control, dying.

"Thank you." she told the girl when she was able to make eye contact and speak firmly again. Natsuki smiled, touching Shizuru's cheek affectionately, even though it didn't seem like the girl realized she had done it.

"I didn't like seeing that look in your eyes." she explained quietly. "When, ah...when can I see you again?" she asked with hesitance.

"When would you like to?" was the reply.

"Now?" she said with a grin, and Shizuru laughed. "You think I'm joking." she added, her smile wider.

"I feel the same way." the british woman answered. "Unfortunately life will not allow it now. Perhaps another time?" she offered.

"Tomorrow?" Natsuki said hopefully, and now the brunette was smiling. She almost agreed, but reminded herslef that she needed to feed well and speak with the Russian intruder sooner rather than later.

"Perhaps the night after that? I have some...previous engagements to take care of." she said reluctantly, and Natsuki frowned.

"That guy."

"Among other things." The bluenette looked very disappointed, and Shizuru wished there were something she could do to chase the look away. An idea struck her and she smiled, causing Natsuki to quirk a brow. "Friday, then? Perhaps I should come to you this time, if it is all right?" she feigned shyness, causing the smaller girl to smirk. Not the reaction she had hoped for, but it was not disappointment. She would have to try harder.

"Sure." she answered, and Shizuru leaned down, her lips halting near the girl's ear. Natsuki froze.

"It's a date, then." she whispered, brushing her lips along the bluenette's jaw as she pulled away. She found the girl's face (and most of her neck) redder than it had ever been and a look of blank surprise on her perfectly sculpted features. With that very pleasant sight, she turned and walked away. She had already turned the corner and leapt to the roof of the neighboring building to see the girl safely inside before she even snapped out of her stupor and smiled widely before turning to go inside. "Until next time." Shizuru sighed, and the wind stirred violently at her request, taking her home to die.

Or so she thought. She had a little over an hour before the sun rose, and Mai and Mikoto were sitting on the steps of her front porch when she arrived home. They were both dressed in dark colors, and Mikoto was carrying some large cylindrical case that looked like something someone would store a large painting in (although Shizuru was sure that was not what it was storing). She landed around the corner so they would not see her, although Mikoto seemed to be watching the sky and this made Shizuru edgy as she came around the corner and feigned surprise when they saw her.

"Miss Mai and Miss Mikoto. What can I do for you at this hour?" she asked with a false smile, and neither girl returned the smile. Mai approached her, although Mikoto remained protectively next to her, and said seriously:

"We have to talk."

3456

Suspense again! Oooooo.


	10. Revelations

Okay, in response to the comments in the reviews about names like Elizabeth and Alicia popping up in there, that was me screwing up the editing and being too lazy to repost the whole chapter just to change a name once. Like I mentioned, I realized a story I was writing before that involved original characters would fit almost perfectly as some ShizNat fanfic with minor adjustments. Soo, I went through and edited the first few chapters which were all I had finished, and then continued on from there with all new shtuff. Shizuru was Elizabeth and Alicia was Natsuki. So, explained. :D

Enjoy. 33

3456

"We have to talk." Mai said very seriously. Shizuru frowned.

"Can we not speak tomorrow? It is so late that it might be considered early, Miss Mai. Is something so urgent?" she said, allowing her exhaustion to seep into her voice. Something was very wrong with this situation, but for the life of her she could not put her finger on it. Mai smiled wryly.

"Yeah, it's that important. It's about who we are, who you are, and especially who Nao is." this immediately rose Shizuru's guard and she stepped back.

"Who are you, then?" she said flatly, eyes narrowing. She did not know what was going on, but she did not like it.

"Can we go inside to talk? I don't want to talk about this stuff inside, but it might help if I tell you that my last name is Tokiha." she said, and the wind howled down the street the moment her family name was spoken. Tokiha. This was ridiculous! A witch had been with her all night and she had not noticed! Surely Mai's control would have slipped at some point...Shizuru tried to calm herself, but had already fallen into a defensive stance. The Tokiha family's ability was to shield themselves. They could not be sensed as long as they kept concentration. It was a very useful ability, however, they had very little in the way of offensive ability and so were primarily information gatherers and were usually paired with a witch from another family. This moved her attention to Mikoto, who had opened her portrait case and had her hand inside. She had stepped completely in front of Mai, and the redhead's hand was on her shoulder. "Mikoto, we're not fighting." Shizuru frowned.

"What else could a witch possibly want with one of my kind?" she asked, looking into Mikoto's determined eyes. She looked ready for a fight. Those honey-colored eyes that reminded her so much of..."Mikoto. Mikoto Minagi?" she said, shock evident in her voice. "Rei-" she started, but Mai cut her off.

"Not out here, Lady Viola! Please. I just want to talk to you, I swear it. I want Mikoto to wait outside." she said, and the British woman was so shocked by what was going on that she did not know how to respond to any of this, and so she remained calm. Mikoto Minagi! She was Reito's sister! Shizuru had thought Arturius had killed the girl-he had said as much himself and was not known, generally, to lie. The British woman was very opposed to the idea of letting this witch into her home, but rationalized that they already knew where it was and at this point it would not make much difference. She was very afraid right now, for in an hour she would be completely defenseless-dead. However, she could not think of any choices outside of humoring the redhead or fighting her-and the brunette was weakening by the minute.

"I won't let you be alone with her, Mai." Mikoto said resolutely, and the redhead turned to her companion and said something quietly to her that Shizuru was too deep in thought to hear, and although Mikoto did not seem happy about it she agreed to allow Mai in to speak with the brunette alone.

"Please, can we talk inside?" the redhead pleaded, and seemed so very earnest that the British woman agreed. That, and she had absolutely no idea what else to do. She was not sure that weak as she was (less than an hour before sunrise now) she could defeat two witches. The Kanzaki clan being the extremely powerful family they were, immortal and physically equal to her own kind, Shizuru would have a very difficult fight with just that girl alone. There was also the question of what was in the case.

"All right." Shizuru said reluctantly, and led the witch into her house, ignoring the fact that every fiber of her being screamed at her that this was insanity. She knew that, but what else could she do? She felt powerless now. She led Mai into her den and gestured for her to sit. She sat in the chair across from the witch, her expression carefully blank. "What can I do for you?"

"Uh...I'm really sorry about all this. I mean, you've got to be freaking out. I guess I'm about to make it worse, too. I'm sorry." she said, and this only served to confuse the British woman. Why in the world would a witch apologize to her? This was ridiculous, and something very odd was happening here.

"I would rather you got straight to business. You must know that the sun will rise soon, and I will not be very talkative at that point." she said coldly, and Mai frowned.

"You were very nice earlier. Is all that warmth of yours just for Natsuki?" she asked, and Shizuru was suddenly on her feet. If the witch threatened Natsuki to get to her...

"I will kill you and everyone who has ever seen you, slowly, if you touch that girl." she said, baring her teeth. Mai laughed, and this only served to further anger Shizuru. The room went cold as a heavy gust came through. This frightened the redhead, although Shizuru was not sure why-Mai had said she knew who she was.

"I'm sorry again, Lady Viola. I just, ah...I didn't mean it that way-Natsuki is my best friend." she said, and for some reason, Shizuru believed her. "Actually, I thought when I first saw you with her that I'd kill you as soon as she wasn't around, but then I saw the way you watched her. She's not food to you, or a game, is she?" Mai said, and it wasn't a question. Shizuru sat back down, her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched. She shook her head in the negative. "That's good. I think you'll protect her, and that's important. She might need it real soon." The British woman was confused again. "Like I said, she's my best friend. I'm a Tokiha. Mikoto is a Kanzaki, and Nao...she's-"

"Yuuki." Shizuru gasped in realization. She had looked familiar, she had known it! Then...Natsuki's friend..."I..." she could not say it aloud for many reasons. Mai was regarding her with an odd look now.

"You know her. Why didn't you-?"

"I knew some of those before her." she said. "I only just realized why Nao seemed familiar to me before." Strangely enough, Shizuru was finding that she was getting comfortable speaking to Mai. She did not know whether or not this was some power that the Tokiha clan had (she had not met any before, they were primarily information hoarders and backup for other families) or if it was the girl's personality itself. "Why did I not sense Nao, or for that matter, Mikoto when you separated during that game?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Arturius had made sure she knew each of the twelve magic families well, and a Tokiha witch could shield herself and one other only if she kept very good concentration and stayed within a certain distance. Mai grinned and shrugged.

"I guess I'm, um, sort of a prodigy. I shield myself without thinking about it, and anyone in my immediate area is hidden too. If I concentrate, I can hide others from far away." she explained. "I was kind of important, which is part of why the Council is so angry with us."

"Why would they be angry with you?" Shizuru's fear was leaving her completely. She was sure now that Mai was being honest with her, and certainly if she had wanted to fight she would have done so already. Unless, of course, they planned to wait for her to die and destroy her then to avoid injury. This made her tense again.

"I swear I'm not here to fight, and I won't fight you as long as you don't attack me or any of my friends, Lady Viola." she said seriously. "Please don't worry." The girl had sensed her discomfort, and was trying to placate her. This made the British woman grin.

"This is possibly the strangest thing I have experienced in my life. A great joke." she said suddenly, and Mai let out a surprised burst of laughter.

"You're making jokes now."

"Rather, this situation is a joke-and I think there is nothing else I can do with it if I do not laugh now. I may go insane." she said honestly, shrugging and grinning wryly.

"How the heck does somebody make a shrug look so...graceful?" Mai asked with a frown. "It's creepy." Shizuru responded with a grin and another shrug, which Mai laughed in response to. "Say...I kind of like you, actually. You know, I've never talked to any of your kind before? You don't seem all that different from us-and that's a lot different from what we're taught." she mused aloud, and the British woman smirked.

"My kind are always very likeable if given the chance. It attracts food. And as you may already know, I am quite different from any others of my kind." she added wryly, and Mai raised her eyebrows.

"I guess that makes sense. No, I don't know that actually. The creepy breezes are new for me though. Is that what you mean?" she asked, and the British woman decided it would be best not to explain-how could a Tokiha NOT know what she was? It was odd. "You're not going to answer that, I guess. I don't think I blame you. Anyway, uh...well, there was this sort of mission that the Council sent Mikoto and I on. We sort of defected, and decided not to do it. Now we're hiding from them, and they are looking real hard for us." Shizuru's brows rose. Very strange. Though with abilities that powerful, the British woman could see why the Council would be horribly upset to lose her.

"How long ago was that?" She asked, and Mai shrugged.

"Something like three years." she said with a sheepish grin. "It was sort of my first official mission, and Mikoto's first since she was healed from a long time ago. She got hurt really, really bad." Now Shizuru understood-Arturius had thought he had killed the Kanzaki witch, but he had failed and her kind had retrieved her. But to take half a century to heal again? He must have done some horrible things to the girl.

"Why is it that you are telling me all of this, Miss Tokiha? It does not seem the most prudent thing to do for your own sake, as you have just informed a dangerous monster that if you truly disappear, no one will ever know what has happened to you-and I therefore would not have to worry about any kind of retaliation." she pointed out with a nasty grin. Mai frowned.

"I don't believe you'd do something like that, and in this case it's much safer for me to talk to you now than to try to hide from you while we're right next to you." she said seriously.

"Perhaps," Shizuru said noncommitally, "now how is it that Miss Yuuki fits into all of this?" she questioned, curious as to how the girl would end up with them if they were in hiding.

"Actually, she was already pretty close friends with Natsuki when we met her three years ago when we came here. I mean, they pretend to hate each other, but they're actually very close." when she said this, a strange, unpleasant feeling made itself known in the brunette. Was this jealousy, perhaps? She also noticed something strange about the way Mai had explained this last part, but could not figure out what exactly that was. She felt sure there was a half-truth in this explanation somewhere. "This is kind of why I'm here to talk to you. Nao's abilities just began to manifest last week. She's a late bloomer, I guess." she said, and before she could continue, Shizuru started in.

"Why has the Council not come to retrieve her? This is usually their practice when an orphaned witch comes into her power." She questioned, and Mai grinned wryly again.

"How did you know she was orphaned?" she asked, and Shizuru narrowed her eyes in warning. Mai allowed the slip to pass, and answered. "Actually, they don't know she exists. I did some digging into her past when I met her. Her mother must have been away on mission through the pregnancy-because the Council had no clue she was pregnant or they never would have sent her in the first place, and I found that she immediately gave her to an adoption agency when she was born. As you probably know, there are plenty of Yuuki descendents out there now that have no magic in them at all. They are one of the larger families, and so their blood is diluted here and there, so one more Yuuki wouldn't raise the Council's suspicions. They assumed Nao's mother would have told them if she was pregnant, of course. Anyway, I'd seen pictures of her mother in our mansion and realized who Nao was shortly after meeting her. I mean, they could be twins, you know?" Shizuru nodded in agreement, and Mai seemed about to ask something and then decided against it. "I don't really know why Nao's mom did what she did, but it's not really my business. I couldn't call the Council to let them know about her because we were in hiding, so I've been teaching her about what she can do and how to control her abilities so that no one gets hurt. I haven't told her anything about the Council so she wouldn't know any of the rules or that we're on the run anyway..." she stopped, "I'm rambling now."

"Yes, you are. But it's quite all right, I am very interested in these particular ramblings. You said Nao was the reason you came to talk to me?" she said, noting that she felt extremely weak and nauseous now. She only had about half an hour.

"Yeah. Nao knows what you are, and I told her what the primary job of our kind is. I wouldn't have if I'd known you would show up and be so...ah, well, I just wish I hadn't told her about it just yet. I've talked her out of coming for you and she has given her word that she won't start a fight, but she's very eager to test out these abilities she has recently received, and I'm worried she's gonna try to provoke you. I wanted to ask you not to hurt her."

"Ah." was the brunettes short, understanding response. Now this whole meeting just seemed ridiculous. "And you trust her word?"

"Oh, yes. She will not break her word-although she'll probably find a way to do what she wants without breaking her promise. I know she doesn't seem very nice, but that's not true. She's loyal, and once she gets to know you-although she'd die before admitting it-she's actually very kind." Mai defended the irritating girl that Shizuru now understood her personal dislike for.

"She is not loyal or kind to me, and obviously has no desire to 'get to know' me as she has you." the brunette said tiredly. "I do not like leaving even small threats to grow into greater ones." Now Mai looked surprised.

"Small? Um, do you know what the Yuuki ability is?" she asked, and Shizuru smiled.

"I know it quite well. It is not a problem for me, especially since she is young and inexperienced." she said off-handedly. Mai gave her another appraising look, and then said seriously,

"She is important to Natsuki." This made Shizuru frown.

"I know this, and it will remain her protection for as long as it is true. I will not harm Natsuki in any way, even indirectly." she said seriously, and knew it was the truth, no matter how much it irked her. Mai seemed to sense this as well, for she smiled in understanding.

"You know, I didn't believe in love at first sight until just now." she said, and the British woman stared at her in shock.

"I do not..." she started, but could not finish. She was not sure if it was the truth or not, and it made her feel afraid. "Perhaps I...I did not know I could feel this strongly for anyone ever again." she said, forgetting herself in her pain and exhaustion.

"I didn't know your kind could either. But I guess there's a first time for everything, right? Look, I'm sure you're hurting and want to get to wherever you sleep, so I'm going to go. I'm satisfied that you won't hurt Nao if you can avoid it, and that's all I wanted for tonight." the redhead said, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Yes, that would be appreciated. I do wish very much to speak to you privately again though, this time about your companion outside." she said, and Mai frowned.

"Please don't say anything to her about her brother." she said. "I promise I'll tell you about it later, but it would be bad for her to know." Shizuru agreed in part, but not completely-perhaps later when Mai explained things she would understand. "I also have some other things to talk to you about. Things are happening that you haven't been sensing, and I'm really sorry again-because it's my fault. Tomorrow night, can we talk again?" she asked, and Shizuru nodded. "Thank you very much, Lady Viola. I was afraid this meeting wouldn't go well at all." Shizuru agreed with that sentiment.

"You may call me Shizuru, Miss Tokiha." she said. She found herself liking this damned witch regardless of all that she should have felt to the contrary, and though she would not trust her yet, she would be civil. This girl was Natsuki's best friend.

"Only if you call me Mai." was the gentle reply. The redhead thanked her again and left. The British woman waited until she was sure they were gone before she took flight. Not even the fear of the sun or dying before she made it to her destination could keep her in that house tonight when she was not completely sure of Mikoto or Mai's intentions. Not to mention Nao could ask Natsuki where she lived, and that would invite even more trouble. The brunette was tired, not stupid-she had not survived this long by trusting people. Even friends were rarely safe bets.

Shizuru took herself to the safest place she could in the few minutes she had remaining, and with much frustration and anger dug up a fresh grave in the cemetery and pulled the heavy amount of dirt back over herself as quickly as possible. She would have to sleep on top of this coffin tonight, where the sun would not touch her and enemies would not find her. It was disgusting, and she loathed to resort to it but she did not feel safe in her home and had no time to go anywhere else. Her last thoughts before her death were that whatever killed the human beneath her had caused him or her to smell extremely ripe.

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Maaaaaan, this one took forever. Ya'll better like it. T.T

Something feels weird about this chapter's written, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe too much information at once? :/

Anyway, woo! Wasn't that crazy? Witches eeeeeverywhere. And tomorrow night's gonna be super busy for Shizuru.


	11. Unwelcome Necessity

Has anyone noticed that I haven't used the word "vampire" in this fic…at all…except in the summary…and just now? I couldn't take it anymore. VAMPIRE. Ooh. Three times. Sorry it took so long to post, too. Busy, busy. And for some reason, the fact that I knew exactly what Shizuru was going to be doing tonight made it harder to write and easier to procrastinate.

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Shizuru awoke with the usual unnecessary gasp, except this time doing so filled her throat with the disturbed earth that surrounded her. Her night was looking up already. She clawed her way back to the surface, and climbed out of the grave. A sharp intake of air caused her to look across the cemetery, feeling torn. On the one hand, she felt uncomfortable killing innocents, and this caretaker was surely innocent. On the other, she would not have to hunt for someone unclean to feed on tonight and it saved her some much needed time.

"I am very sorry you had to see that." She said clearly, and the fear on his face intensified. He finally caught up with his fear and turned to run from her. Of course, this did little for him as she leapt into the air and the wind carried her to intercept him. "I promise you, you will feel no pain." She said softly as she made eye contact and his face went slack. She did not wish to kill him, but he could not be allowed to live, having seen what he had. With a scowl she feared would last all night, she leaned forward and fed.

After she had disposed of the poor fool in last night's resting place, she took to the air. Her first order of business was, naturally, a shower. She was covered with dirt that smelled of death, and it made her stomach turn. Not to mention she looked horrible. Unfortunately, the Russian seemed to have other ideas, as he was waiting in the middle of an alley a few streets from her house. If she ignored him and went home, he too would know where she slept. She covered her frustration as she set down in front of him. He gave her a restrained smile.

"I would say good evening, but it does not seem as if yours has been such, at least thus far." He said, and she forced a genial smile. "I hope you have taken care of any problem you may have? I would, of course, be willing to help you deal with any if you have not." He offered, and she frowned.

"I can take care of myself—and have done just so." She said, and he held his hands up in placation.

"Of course—I was only being polite." He answered, and the British woman only gave him a flat look. "Straight to business, then?" he frowned, seeming put out. She nodded. "I simply wanted to ask your permission to travel in your territory as needed. I am a messenger between two Masters, and through your city is my quickest route between them." That made Shizuru think. The Russian was obviously old, perhaps even older than she was—what two Masters would have a messenger that powerful?

"Who are your Masters?" she asked. He smiled sheepishly.

"I can't answer that until I ask them if I may do so." He said apologetically. "But I will ask." The brunette did not like that answer at all, but she supposed she couldn't blame him for it. He would not be made to anger them.

"How often will you come through my territory?" she asked, moving on. He smiled in thanks to her passing over his last unfortunate answer.

"Most likely only once a week, but I can't be sure." She was satisfied with that answer.

"Have your Masters taken up permanent residence on either side of my territory?" she asked, not happy about that thought at all.

"I can't answer that yet, either." He frowned.

"Then I will grant you temporary leave to travel in my territory, until you can answer these questions—at which point I may or may not change my mind." The British woman said resignedly. She did not want to be polite here, only to tell him to stay out of her city. However, she couldn't afford to make any among her kind angry at this juncture. Something very odd was happening here right now. If they found her associating with witches at any rate, she would be marked for death.

"Wonderful." He smiled widely, and she returned his smile, albeit with a restrained and insincere one. "What are your requirements?" She fought the urge to sigh.

"Do not kill anyone who would be missed, if you must kill anyone at all. I do not want any attention drawn unnecessarily. If you could feed in your Masters' cities, that would be better for me." She said, and he nodded.

"Of course. I will respect your conditions, Lady Viola, and I thank you very much for your cooperation. I'm sure my Masters would agree." He said, and turned to leave. Shizuru frowned.

"What shall I call you?" she asked, only half-caring but deciding she was tired of calling him 'the Russian' in her head.

"Alexi." He answered shortly, and then was gone. Now the British woman did sigh. Speaking with others of her kind could be exhausting. She found that she much preferred humans' company over this. Of course, she preferred Natsuki's over all else, but that was beside the point. She wanted this night to be over with so that she could meet with the younger girl again. Perhaps this was not beside the point, after all. She should not be so enamored of the girl after only two days. What was going on? Witches, the Russian, and a ridiculous attraction to a human girl all at once—this was far from coincidental, and yet Shizuru could not understand how any of these things could be related.

In either coincidence or impeccable timing, her doorbell rang as she was drying her hair. She did not raise her guard immediately, because Mai had kindly dropped her shields so that Shizuru would know she was coming. She also did not sense Mikoto in the area, which was fortunate. She supposed it was rather foolish of the Tokiha witch to come alone—the brunette would have no trouble disposing of the redheaded girl if she was alone. Or perhaps she was simply that sure of herself. The British woman was not sure whether that irritated her or not.

"Welcome, Miss Mai." She said cordially, opening the door to let the witch in. This still seemed horribly wrong to her mind, and yet her instincts were inexplicably quiet. The redhead grinned.

"I told you, just Mai. I promise, I won't be insulted—Shizuru." She said, and frowned. "Although for some reason, I still feel like I should be calling you 'Lady Viola' or something." She muttered, and the woman in question felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

"You are not alone in that respect. I fear that many of those who know who I am—or rather, who I was—have trouble speaking with me informally. Rest assured that I do not mind." She added. "I believe we have several things to talk about, if you'll join me in the sitting room." She said, calmly leading the still-grinning girl into said room and waiting for the guest to sit before she did so.

"Don't you get tired of being proper?" Mai asked, blue eyes bright and playful. "I mean, I'm sure it was like…expected when you were growing up, but now it's got to seem eccentric to people, and it can't be all that fun to be so upright all the time." She said, seeming honestly curious. This confused the brunette, as she didn't understand herself why questions like this came into peoples' heads. They certainly did not enter hers. All right, so on occasion, they might, but she would never speak them aloud. It wasn't…it wasn't proper. Yes, she had just thought that. Mai laughed at her frown. "I wish I knew what was going through your head right now. It seems pretty entertaining." She redirected her attention at the redhead.

"Perhaps it is not questions like that which Mai should be asking." She said, and the girl in question continued right on grinning widely.

"Are you sulking?" Shizuru decided to avoid the subject at hand by returning to another.

"I do not tire of being proper, as it is how I was raised, and to behave in any other way is a stress for me rather than the other way around. I am uncomfortable when not being….'upright', as you put it. It is frustrating that now my mannerisms are considered eccentric, however—so I must sometimes pretend not to have what I consider 'proper' manners. Doing so does seem very…strange to me, even if it is necessary." She explained, and Mai laughed again. The British woman fought a smile—but my, this girl was very easy to like.

"It does, doesn't it? Okay, okay, I'll stop poking at you…I mean, it's just a lot of fun. And talking like this with a…with someone like you, it's surreal. I'm trying to make the most of it." The redhead leaned back, making herself comfortable as Shizuru nodded in understanding. "So, ah…I guess we should talk about Mikoto first." She said, and she seemed very put out by this. The brunette wondered at this, but stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. "So, I guess you already know that she's Reito Kanzaki's sister, don't you?" she started with a furtive glance toward the other woman. She nodded her assent, and Mai sighed. "Well, Mikoto doesn't know that he's alive. Well, you know, walking around alive…maybe not alive, alive. _Are_ you alive?" she rambled uncomfortably.

"I do not suppose that is a question I can answer with any sort of certainty." She offered honestly, and the redhead shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess not." She said, and sighed. "Well, Mikoto's not exactly, um…It would be really hard for her to understand the situation. I didn't know her before she got hurt, so I don't know if she has always been like this, but she's almost animalistic sometimes. Emotionally, she still seems very young, even if she is over a hundred. I feel like I need to protect her from…from knowing some things that would cause her pain." She finished her speech as she frowned. Her eyes stared past Shizuru at something that was not there, and something about her expression reminded the British woman of a concerned mother. The brunette had least expected to hear this type of reason from the girl, but she supposed (if not empathetically) she at least understood the girl's thought process and desire to protect her.

If there was some knowledge she had that would cause Natsuki pain, would she keep it hidden or share it out of responsibility? She had a feeling that she would keep it to herself. That was an uncomfortable thought, as she knew that she should not care either way—but she would have to get used to the fact that she did care for the girl, for some reason, and could not shut whatever had stirred inside her back down. She supposed that this uncomfortable bit of humanity was exactly why she had come here in the first place—but she did not remember it being so frustrating.

"I see." She said after a moment of consideration. "I believe I would choose to tell the girl were it up to myself, but I shall respect your wishes—unless, of course, you give me reason not to continue to do so." She said, and the last was an obvious threat. Information could be more damaging than fists, after all—especially when the Tokiha witch had a protector like Mikoto Minagi that even Shizuru was not sure she would be able to defeat—at least not without lasting injury. The redhead let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you…Shizuru." She said with genuine warmth and a smile. The British woman returned it, and shifted in her seat. She would rather take care of some security issues than spend all night talking—again. She needed to go purchase some things, else she would be forced to sleep in the ground tonight as well, and that was something she definitely did not want to do.

"If that was all you needed , I have some other things to take care of tonight." She said to the girl, who frowned.

"Um, well, there's one more thing…" she said and now there was great discomfort radiating from her, and perhaps even…fear? Shizuru leaned back in her seat, her interest piqued.

"Yes?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her when the girl was quiet for too long.

"Well…I've kind of been inadvertently hiding something else from you that has been happening in the city for the last couple of weeks." This confused Shizuru. How in the world did someone with Mai's level of power _inadvertently_ hide something from her? And what could it be that was it that the girl was this...worrisome?

"Yes? And what is that?" she pressed again, after too long a silence. Mai cleared her throat nervously.

"I notice you don't have a television here. You don't see the news?" she muttered the question, to which she obviously already knew the answer. She was stalling.

"I do not. I have never before needed to do so, as any activity in my city that might require my attention is sensed when I am about at night." The British woman frowned suddenly. Unless, of course, someone was blocking her senses. "What is it, Miss Tokiha?" she said, slipping back into formality.

"There have been several murders in the city just in the last couple of weeks—and not the kind that other humans commit—these people were skinned alive." She said quickly and was very tense as Shizuru stared at her for a time, expression blanked.

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Gaaaah. So much talking! There must be action, soooooon. But hey hey! Next chapter has more Natsuki! :D


	12. Losing Control

A lot less time with Natsuki than I wanted! Actually, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but It's been so long since I updated, that I wanted to give you guys _something_. Also, I'll be busy again for a while, so unless my desire to see how I can make ShizNat dance around each other some more overtakes my desire to take care of responsibilities, I won't get to update as soon as I'd like. Although hopefully, it won't be as long as this time.

I keep wanting to push the story too far ahead, I think. I have some scenes I want to do, but I think if I jump right into them the story will be moving too fast. So writing these parts is like work. D: I'm excited for the things that are going to happen after this. Anyway, I'm rambling. Happy holidays.

Enjoy!

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Shizuru stared at the witch for several long moments, the redhead in question extremely tense and looking ready to bolt—not that doing so would do her any good. The British woman was giving her all to keep her anger in check, but eventually lost that battle and crossed the distance between them in less than a second, lifting Mai by the throat.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" she snarled, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. She was furious. It was likely that these events were the reason for the powerful Russian's masters moving toward and through her territory. She looked weak, and unable to hold onto her own area. She doubted these 'Masters' wanted to take her territory from her, rather that they were interested in the fact that she was not doing anything about the murders—or even perhaps had noticed that they themselves could not sense where and when they were occurring now that they were near enough that they should have been able to do so. She was in a very large amount of trouble if they thought that she herself was responsible for these murders. She would be executed.

"Sh…Shiz…" the Tokiha witch attempted to choke out, hands wrapping around the brunette's wrist and tightening convulsively. The older woman sneered at the fear and surprise in those clear, blue eyes.

"Had you forgotten what I am?" she asked. "It may be that I am a pretty and well-mannered monster, but the adjectives do not define the noun in this case, and it would have been wise for you to remember that." She said coldly, and tightened her grip. She wondered at the narrowing of the Tokiha witch's eyes a moment before a sharp, burning pain hit the underside of her wrist and she dropped the girl with a hiss.

"I…" the witch started in between gasping breaths, holding her throat. "I…didn't forget." She coughed violently, and Shizuru snarled at the burnt flesh on her wrist and looked at Mai, who was currently brandishing a silver dagger that the British woman had not noticed before. The witch could have buried it into her throat, but she had only pressed the metal to her wrist—a warning. She glared at the offending object for a few more moments before taking a deep, unnecessary breath and letting it out.

"I lost my temper." She said as her rage disappeared and was replaced by a new feeling. Was it shame? She only vaguely remembered the sensation; most likely she had last experienced it while alive.

"I…gathered that." Mai muttered, still rubbing at her throat. The brunette had caused no lasting damage, and was sure that the witch would be fine in a few minutes.

"I…" she began to lie, and then thought better of it. "I would like to apologize for losing my temper, but I am not sorry for hurting you and I think that it is important for you to know that, as you seem to be thinking of me as if I were…like you." She said, and the redhead stared at her in shock for a few moments before some unknown realization hit her and she nodded.

"I understand—although I'm not sure exactly what panicked you like that about what I told you. It's the first time I've seen you act…well, like you're what you are. You're right, I wasn't thinking about what you are, because you seem so human…but I couldn't forget. I was raised to kill your kind on sight, you know—and effectively." She elaborated with a frown, and sat herself back in the chair she had previously occupied. Shizuru was continuously amazed by this girl. Was she determined to put herself into situations that had a high chance of killing her? She didn't seem to be dim by any stretch of the imagination, yet she insisted on behaving as if the British woman was just another human—even if she carried a silver dagger and kept the fact that Shizuru might decide to kill her at any moment in the back of her mind. Or maybe she was treating her like she was another witch, she thought with dry humor and a small smile. "Now something's funny?" Mai said in surprise, and Shizuru let out a surprised burst of laughter.

"This is all so ridiculous. You still sit right back down as if I did not just attempt to kill you." She explained, and Mai shrugged.

"I'm not sure there's anything else I can do, actually." The brunette thought about that reply for a moment. The witch had been armed with silver, she reminded herself, so perhaps she was not taking as cavalier an approach to this situation as she had originally thought. "I mean, I did kind of expect you to be angry, I just didn't know you'd be THAT angry."

"Are you afraid?" she asked the redhead, who let out a weak laugh.

"I'm terrified. Does that make you feel better?"

"I think that it does." She said honestly and with a graceful shrug, opting to begin explanation. "There are two Masters moving into nearby territories who are likely very old, and now that you tell me what I have been missing, I have an idea that this is why." She explained, and proceeded to outline her reasoning for that. It was not common for those older than a century to move much once they have settled, and the fact that they had done just that had spoken of something important happening nearby. Perhaps something that could be worrisome to her kind, at any rate. Maybe the Elders had ordered them to check into the matter? No matter what the reason, all of this was unsettling, and Shizuru no longer felt safe in her own city.

On the positive side, she was now sure that Mai would not be attacking her as she slept and Nao, as far as she was aware, did not know where she lived. (If any of the Elders wanted to kill her, it did not matter where she slept.) After everything she had learned of the girl, she would know better than to eliminate the only source of information (and protection, even) from these new Masters. That would be suicidal. If she were to be believed, she could not fight openly without attracting the Council's attention—and she seemed to want to avoid that attention at all costs. Shizuru supposed that was an intelligent idea, as she remembered the Council being very unforgiving about disobedience, and Mai and Mikoto would be punished (read tortured) severely if they were caught.

This line of thought made her wonder again what order could be so important to disregard that they would defy the Council. Missions for witches generally involved finding a group of her kind and executing them. Perhaps Mai's interaction with the British woman was a clue. Was she in sympathy with her kind? That, she knew, would come with an especially heavy punishment. In fact, it was the most serious offense a witch could commit next to betraying or killing one of their own.

"You look like you're thinking about something serious. Care to share?" the redhead asserted when Shizuru was silent for a time.

"As it so happens, I do not." She answered, and offered a tentative smile. "Not about that particular line of thought, at any rate. Perhaps at another time. I have actually promised to meet Natsuki tonight, and have little time for chatting. What I do need from you right now is what you know about these murders and why you have been shielding them from me." Mai grinned as the British woman said Natsuki's name and she quirked a brow. "What?"

"Your whole face comes alive when you say her name. It's so…" she searched for a word. "Beautiful, I guess. And it's even weirder to watch after what happened a minute ago." Shizuru chose not to comment, hoping the girl would let it pass, and she did after a moment. "Well, first of all, um…I wasn't actually shielding anything from you on purpose except for Mikoto, myself, and Nao." She began, and Shizuru wondered at the slight hesitation before she had said the other redhead's name, but said nothing.

"It's just that Nao kind of lives on the other side of town, and I can't just shield specific people…I have to shield the entire area between us as well." This gave the British woman pause. The redhead had said that she was 'sort of' a prodigy, but this was ridiculous. The entire city? The notion that she could create a 'dead zone' for the senses of both witches and her own kind that covered that much area was mind-numbing. "Yeah…I know. It's surprising to all the other witches too when I tell them the first time. I told you I was important to the Council." She said with a sigh. "Things are about to become really difficult for all of us. I'm sorry, again."

"If the Elders have noticed that this city nullifies our 'sixth' senses, as it were, then it might not be long before the Council hears of it as well and comes for you. I will assume that the extent of your abilities is a well-guarded secret that the Elders do not know, and thus cannot communicate quickly enough what is happening here for the Council to realize you are here. It will not be so for long, though…" she thought aloud, and as she watched Mai's face fall further at each word, offered, "Perhaps you and your girls should leave town?"

"I can't." she replied without a thought. "At least not yet. I'd need an excuse for…" she stopped, looking up at Shizuru with alarm in her eyes. "I just can't right now." The British woman narrowed her eyes at the redhead. What was the girl keeping from her when she already knew so much? It must be important, after all that the girl had offered freely in knowledge.

"Very well then." She finally said, seeing that Mai would not be forthcoming with any more on the subject…yet. "Can you tell me what you know of these murders?" she repeated, and Mai gave a nod.

"I'll hurry so that you can go and see Natsuki." She said with a knowing grin, and Shizuru looked away, admirably not showing her embarrassment. "You're getting better at hiding those reactions." She remarked offhandedly, earning a glare, and immediately began a detailed (or as detailed as she could be given what she knew) explanation.

An hour later, Shizuru found herself approaching Natsuki's apartment building. Glancing upwards at the window she knew was the bluenette's, she noted that there were no lights on. She assumed that the younger girl must be out, because it was already nine p.m. and it was unlikely that the self-proclaimed night owl was sleeping at such an hour. Deciding that her assumption was solid, she sat on a bench near the entrance to the building.

A few moments after sitting, she heard a vehicle roaring up around the corner, and saw a motorbike slide round the bend with a squeal and it stopped right in front of the bench she was seated at. A familiar, intoxicating scent reached the British woman and found herself unable to move or speak. Natsuki was dressed in a _very_ form-fitting leather bodysuit. Shizuru watched, in a stupor, as the bluenette pulled off her helmet and shook her luxurious hair free. She swung her leg over to the other side of the bike and dismounted, moving toward the woman frozen on the bench; all that leather creaking deliciously as she did so.

"Shizuru." She said with a small smile, and the woman in question found that she had stood and taken a step toward the voice unconsciously. The brunette wanted to hear that name pass the girl's lips again, wanted to hear that voice cry out in—she cut herself off, sinking teeth into her tongue to ground her thoughts. This, at least, was not an unfamiliar emotion. She remembered this (although she had to admit that she had never felt it this strongly before). It was _lust_, and it felt like it should have a capital "L". "Shizuru?" she asked again at the British woman's silence, granting her earlier wish unintentionally. Finally, wine-colored eyes met concerned emeralds.

"N…" she began, and had to lick her lips—her mouth was suddenly dry. "Natsuki. It is good to see you." She attempted to recover. It was embarrassing that Shizuru continued to lose control of herself around the younger girl—even Arturius had praised her control and composure, saying that it took most of their kind centuries to perfect the mask that hid what they really thought, and that some never perfected the ability to feign human emotion at all. She had been able to since her birth, because she had done it well while alive. She did not think that Arturius' praise was something to be proud of, and determined that it was a skill she should be glad to have taken from her by this girl.

"Really? That's all you've got?" she smiled widely at the brunette, "No eloquent speech about how you have waited a fortnight to see me again, and—" she stopped at the wide-eyed look Shizuru was giving her. She blushed. "Sorry. I've just been feeling…different, lately." The British woman watched her for another moment, regarding her strangely.

"It has not yet been a fortnight, although I must admit that it seemed much longer." She finally said theatrically, the smile in her eyes alerting the bluenette.

"You're right, it did." She said without missing a beat, smiling at the older woman. The woman in question was still taken aback by Natsuki's current lack of embarrassment, and wasn't able to form a quick enough reply. "So, would you like to go for a ride?" she suddenly said, and Shizuru's eyes shot back to hers. "Well?" she asked impatiently as the British woman just stared at her. Finally, she directed her gaze to the Ducati at the curb behind the bluenette.

"…..On _that_?"


	13. A Complicated Date

Hey, hey. It's been a loooong time, and this seems like such a shooort chapter, but I did want ya'll to know I hadn't quit, just been busy and all kinds of blocked up. Maybe now that school's out for the summah, I can update a little more regularly, or something.  
You may love this, and you may slightly hate it. Either way, at some point, you'll probably-Enjoy.

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"On that?" Shizuru said without thinking as she looked at the steel monstrosity. Natsuki laughed without restraint, and the older woman frowned in response, although she found the laugh absolutely beautiful. It was one she had never heard before, as the bluenette had been as guarded as she could be with the expression of emotion around the British woman…almost tentative in expressing anything at all. "What is so funny?" she finally huffed at the girl who was holding her sides now.

"Sorry, you just…if you could have seen your face! It was like I'd just told a five-year-old that she had to eat her vegetables or else she couldn't have dessert. It was so priceless." The younger girl explained in between breaths, and the taller woman crossed her arms.

"I am not being petulant...I simply do not like motorcycles." She said in her defense.

"Now you're pouting." The girl said with a very wide smile that seemed to garner a deeper frown on the other woman's face. "It's very cute." She said in response to Shizuru's changing expression, which caused her to look up at the smirking biker.

"But…" the British woman started, not even sure where she was going with the sentence…"My hair." She finished lamely. The leather-clad biker stared at her blankly for several moments with raised brows before bursting again into a fit of giggles. She stepped closer to Shizuru, causing the taller girl to shrink a little.

"Well…" she said in between snickers, "I guess it won't matter now." She said, and before the older woman could ask what she meant, Natsuki had put a hand on top of her head and mussed it horribly. "Helmet hair could only improve this look, right?" she said before guffawing at her own antics some more. Shizuru stared at the girl with wide eyes, stammering.

"You…you…" she sputtered, shocked at the way the other girl was acting. She didn't suppose that this change was particularly negative, but it was certainly…different. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she finally thought of a way to pay the girl back. "Natsuki?" she asked innocently, causing the girl to let go of her stomach (apparently she had hurt her sides laughing) and look up at her with a question in her eyes.

"Shizuru?" she said, that little smirk still on her face.

"Are you ticklish?" the brunette asked, and the wide eyes and look of shock that passed over the girl's face in response was answer enough for her. She lunged for the younger girl as she tried to escape, and began tickling her in earnest.

"N-n-ahahaha…Shizuru, stop it—aaahaa…" came some of the girl's pleas in between gasping breaths, and a small clearing of the throat startled her a step back from Natsuki and had her hands at her sides. She looked over to find an old woman looking at the two of them with a knowing smile on her face. The British woman had forgotten they were still standing on the sidewalk in front of Natsuki's apartment complex, and she apologized to the woman, who simply shook her head, chuckled, and continued inside.

"Thanks for saving me…Mrs. Green." The leather-clad girl said to the retreating woman's back as she caught her breath. She looked at Shizuru with a wide grin, in response to which the brunette crossed her arms.  
"And let that be a lesson to you." She said, and the biker girl chuckled again.

"It's okay, Shizuru. You don't have ride with me. It's just, ah…well, I woke up today feeling really, really good. I went out with Takeda for a while to take my mind off waiting to see you tonight, and well, I was thinking…riding is one of my favorite things in the world to do, and I thought it would be kinda cool to share it with you." She said, and her voice had gotten quieter and more shy as she had gone on. In fact, as she had finished, she almost wore a look of defeat. The brunette's heart gave a heavy, metaphorical thump. Her mouth closed, opened, and closed again, the woman wanting to say something and being unable to form words. She suspected that perhaps the feeling she was being overwhelmed by was affection when what finally came out of her mouth was something she certainly had not meant to say.

"All right." Natsuki looked at her, puzzled.

"All right, what?" she asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Let us go for a ride together." Shizuru answered, again feeling a lack of control of her own faculties. Natsuki eyed her suspiciously for a moment, and then smiled widely with a shrug.

"Okay, then…get on." She said, leading the woman back to the Ducati and throwing her leg across to straddle the mechanical beast. Now it was the British woman's turn to eye the motorcycle suspiciously. Another deep chuckle drew her attention back to the gorgeous girl on the bike. "It's not going to bite you. Promise." She said, and held her hand out to the woman. Shizuru couldn't resist the look the younger girl was giving her, and took her hand. Natsuki pulled her onto the back of the Ducati and reached around her, producing a helmet. "Put it on." She said, and the brunette complied. "Now hold onto me—like this." She grabbed the girl's hands and wrapped them securely around her waist. Shizuru's stomach felt light at the contact. "Now, hold on tight." She said, as if the brunette needed to be reminded, put on her own helmet and started the bike. Shizuru cringed at the loud, animalistic sound that came from the beast, and a small shaking in the leather-clad girl in front of her informed her that she was being laughed at—again. She decided that she didn't mind too much, however, as the girl sped off onto the street and she pressed herself flush against Natsuki's back. In fact, she supposed she could get used to it.

What seemed like both hours and far too short a time passed before Shizuru felt the bike begin to slow, and finally stopped. She had closed her eyes for the ride, relishing in the warmth radiating from the girl in front of her.

"We're here." Natsuki said in as soft a voice as she had ever heard coming from the girl. The brunette removed her helmet and by the time she had struggled out of it, the younger girl was already off the bike, helmet-less, and holding out a hand to her with a small smile. Shizuru allowed her to help her get off the Ducati, and then her breath (if she had any) left her at the sight before her.

They were on a large shoulder that came from the edge of a cliff, looking out over the guard rail into what must be the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently they _had_ been riding for hours. The stars were bright , the light unfiltered by the pollution of a city, and…Shizuru sensed magic here. Not the metaphorical kind, but the dangerous kind. She glanced around suspiciously, but felt that whatever had been here was long gone. The trail was very, very old. "It's beautiful." Shizuru finally said. She felt a hand wrap around hers and looked at the girl next to her. Her eyes were unfocused, staring off into the empty expanse of water in front of them.

"My grams told me that this is where my mother died. The weather was bad, and she lost control of her car." She said simply, and the brunette felt her throat constrict painfully. She did not know what to say, so she opted to remain silent, simply giving the younger girl's hand a small squeeze. "I come out here sometimes…I'm not sure why, to think, I guess. I feel calm here, and I think I feel closer to her even though I barely remember her, if that makes any sense. I'm not sure why I brought you here, but…" she was silenced when she felt arms wrap solidly around her from behind. Shizuru had not known what to do with the torrent of emotion that was being bestowed her, so she had simply pulled the girl to her and pressed her cheek to the girl's shoulder-blade. The century-old woman breathed deep of her scent, mixed with sweat and leather, and for the first time did not feel her teeth ache. She was not hungry at all. She was…she felt very weak, and very human. And she loved this girl. She had only just made her acquaintance, and barely knew her…but she loved her all the same. She would admit it, at least to herself, before it tore her apart.

"Natsuki…" she began, her voice thick, and the girl did not let her finish. She turned in Shizuru's arms, and placed a hand on her cheek. The British woman froze as the girl looked into her eyes, as they were mere inches apart, bodies pressed flush against one another.

"Shizuru, I…I know we haven't known each other for very long, but…I think…I just…I might…" she began, and grew more frustrated with each sentence she failed to finish. As she stumbled over her words, the brunette began to smile, and when she quirked a brow, the bluenette surprised her yet again. "I…I…oh, screw it." She said, and leaned forward to press her lips to the older woman's. Shizuru felt her world stop, and perhaps spin backward, or upside down. There was only herself, and Natsuki, and nothing else had, did, or ever would matter to her again. She had no idea how long they had been kissing, but when she felt a jolt of pain in her head, as if it had been working at her for hours and she had only just noticed it, she pulled away and Natsuki stopped to catch her breath. She looked up at the crimson-eyed beauty in front of her. "I…yeah, that." She finally said with a smile, and Shizuru grinned back at her. There was the pain again, this time worse. She tore her eyes from her girl and looked across the ocean to see that the sky was getting terrifyingly lighter. She had only minutes.

"Oh, no." she said as dread slammed into her at the situation. Natsuki took a step toward her.  
"What's the matter?" she said with concern, and Shizuru looked at her with wide eyes.  
"I…it's…it is very late…or, early….it is very early." She stuttered, and the girl frowned.

"Are you missing something important? I'm sorry, I just…I kind of thought we could watch the sun rise." She said by way of explanation and began to worry at the stark fear that was coming over Shizuru's face.  
"I have to go." The woman said, terror in her voice. It wasn't of the sun she was afraid, it was what Natsuki would think of her tomorrow. The leather-clad girl seemed confused.

"Okay, let's get back on the bike then." She gestured toward it, and the crimson-eyed girl shook her head. Her eyes seemed a lot redder than usual, but Natsuki told herself that it was the pre-dawn light. They were almost glowing.

"I am…I am so sorry, Natsuki." She said…"but I must go." She said with finality and the wind suddenly picked up around them, causing both girls' hair to fly around violently.

"What…" Natsuki started, and then stared slack-jawed after Shizuru, who had just flown away. Yes, she flew. It was as if the wind itself had picked her up and carried her up the cliff face, and then she was gone. "…Shizuru?" her voice was small and scared, and even as the brunette was searching frantically for a place to hide from the sun, the wind carried the sound to her. She found a small cave on the opposite side of the cliff, and went inside. She dropped to the ground, and for the first time in decades, she began to cry.


	14. Fallout

What a horrible way to have ended a chapter and then left you hanging for months! Soooowwy, but this fallout just took foreeeever to get myself to write. If you guys are even still there by now, that is. Who is ready for Shizuru's crazy time? :o

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Natsuki had no idea for how long she stared after the woman who had just, literally, flown away from her. When she got back on her bike though, she vaguely noted that the sun had cleared the horizon and was way too bright. She felt like it should be darker outside. She headed back toward her apartment, glad that she wouldn't have to think about what had just happened for hours yet. That was why she'd gotten her Ducati in the first place—she could escape from the things that bothered her. Of course, because she was trying so hard not to think about anything, and succeeding, it felt like she arrived at her apartment in no time. She climbed the stairs with heavy, slow steps—she was exhausted in many ways, and guessed she could just go to sleep and think about…things…later. So the bluenette took a quick shower and lay down, asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Only to be woken up a few hours later by loud pounding on her front door. She tried to ignore it, but whoever it was could be annoyingly persistent. She rolled out of bed and plodded to the door in her t-shirt and boxers to yell at whoever was on the other side—but when she opened the door, she didn't have time to say anything because there was an angry redhead on the other side.

"What the hell, Kruger? I buzzed forever trying to get in here, and finally Mrs. Green let me up, just so you could ignore me some more. You were supposed to meet us at the college today for a study session, you useless little—" Nao was cut off when the door started to shut in her face, but she put her foot in the jamb and forced her way in. "Oh, it ain't gonna be that easy." She paused a moment, taking in the bluenette's haggard, distressed appearance. "…Uh…seriously, what the hell happened to you?" she said, failing to keep the concern completely from her voice. Natsuki smirked at her.

"Why, Miss Yuuki, it almost sounds like you give a shit." She said, and Nao frowned.

"Well…I don't…" she started, "I was just, you know, wondering why you stood Mai up. She wasn't happy, and sent me to check on you because she had another class." She lied (although it was a pretty good one, Natsuki privately complimented).

"Well, I slept in." Natsuki lied right back. "That's it. I'll tell Mai later that I'm sorry." And she looked at the door longingly, hoping that Nao would go back through it so she could sink back into blissful unconsciousness. Nao ignored the look and went to Natsuki's fridge to get a beer. The bluenette sighed. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"It was that Viola…woman, wasn't it?" Nao said suddenly, and Natsuki's eyes snapped up to meet the redhead's surprisingly serious gaze.

"How…" she started before she could stop herself, and Nao scowled.

"I knew it was a horrible idea in the first place…Mai is such a fucking idiot…" The redhead began ranting, and Natsuki was extremely confused, but barely had time to contemplate what Nao had just said before she continued, "What did that monster do to you?" she asked the distressed girl. Natsuki stared blankly at her friend, if that was the right word for the redhead. "Nevermind, I'll go and beat it out of her." She said and turned toward the door. She was stopped however, by a vice-like grip on her wrist.

"No, you won't. You stay the hell away from Shizuru." The bluenette said, and the low, dangerous tone of her voice shook the redhead.

"What the fuck, Kruger?" she asked, struggling to get out of Natsuki's grip and failing. "You're hurting me, damnit!" she finally said, and the bluenette snapped out of her anger and let her go.

"Uh, sorry…I just…Just leave Shizuru alone, okay? She didn't do anything wrong." Natsuki said finally to the shocked redhead. "I just…I need to be alone now, please?" she finally resorted to begging, and for the first time, it worked. Nao headed for the door. She didn't say a word to the blunette on her way out, and when the door closed, it felt as if Natsuki's legs turned to jell-o. She sank down to the floor with a heavy exhalation.

Why had she gotten so protective when Nao had threatened Shizuru? Was it because Nao didn't know what she was dealing with? She doubted that was the case, since she had jumped to Shizuru's defense rather than telling Nao what had happened. Natsuki sighed and realized that the only question she needed to find an answer to was whether or not what she had seen this morning changed how she felt about the British woman. She had part of her answer, she guessed, from her reaction to Yuuki's threats. The rest of her answer, she would have to get from the brunette woman herself. With this understanding in mind, she went back to bed.

She hoped she could get some more sleep before the sun went down. Obviously that was a problem for Shizuru. She didn't know if she'd be able to sleep though, with all of these things weighing on her, and with the way she'd been feeling lately. For the last few days, her body had started to feel…different. She felt stronger and more energetic. Except for the whole kryptonite thing, and maybe being from another planet, she kind of felt like Superman or something. It was stupid, she knew, but she felt like she could do anything. That was why she'd taken Shizuru to her spot this morning in the first place. She had felt like nothing could go wrong in her life, and the thing she wanted most to go right was…but it hadn't really gone well, had it?

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"This is bad." Mai said as soon as Nao left her apartment. She had barely talked the livid girl out of going to Shizuru's house and killing her. Or trying to kill her, which Mai thought was more likely. Nao was still new, and Lady Viola was over a century old. She wasn't sure Nao would have a chance, Harrow or not. Mikoto would probably be their only chance of beating her in a fight, and the Tokiha witch desperately wanted to avoid a situation in which a fight was the only resolution. What could have happened to upset Natsuki? She was sure that Shizuru wouldn't have done anything intentionally to hurt the blunette, but she guessed something else could have happened outside of the ancient woman's control. "Mikoto?" she called into the other room, and the bundle of energy bounced in.

"Yes, Mai?" she asked with a big smile. The redhead often envied her apparent innocence before she remembered how the Kanzaki witch had arrived at this state. She had experienced a mental break when the monster Arturius had tortured her for years. To protect herself, Mai guessed, from death, she had separated from her memories. When she had been found, Mikoto could only remember things from before her powers had manifested as a witch: her love for food, her older brother, and her pets. Her body remembered how to fight, though, and she was very good at it. In fact, when Mai had begun travelling with the small girl, she'd reached for her sword in answer to every little problem. It had taken some time for the redhead to break her of the habit.

"Get your things…we're going to go wait at Shizuru's house again." She sighed, and Mikoto nodded.

"Did she hurt Natsuki?" she asked seriously, and Mai looked up with surprise. Mikoto must have heard the worry in her voice. The little girl could be astute when she wanted to.  
"I don't think she did, but she might have. We have to ask her why Natsuki is sad." Mai explained. Often, even though she was observant, Mikoto had to be talked to as if she were a child or she couldn't understand complicated situations well.

"Okay." Mikoto simply nodded, and went into the other room to get ready. With a sigh, Mai went to change as well. She had a really bad feeling about this.

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Shizuru Viola awoke feeling uncharacteristically empty. Or rather, since she had come to this town, such a cold emptiness was uncharacteristic. Even more specifically, she hadn't felt like this since her new life had begun under Arturius' direction. It was a calculating, vicious kind of emptiness that pulled her back to the nearby city through the air, and brought her to a group of gang members attempting to mug a businessman. They had him on the ground and were kicking at him cruelly when she landed mere feet from them.  
"All that for the money in his wallet?" she asked with a small, unpleasant smile. They jerked to look at her.

"Where the hell did she come from?" mixed in with, "Get her!" fell upon her ears, and while the words reached them, they were not understood. Before they could finish reaching for their weapons, Shizuru had snapped the neck of the nearest thug and moved on to his nearest friend. She opened up his midsection and found the pitiful squealing sounds he made as his intestines spilled onto the dirty concrete did not please her as she had hoped. So she silenced him for eternity as well, and moved on to his other three compatriots, disposing of them without fanfare. She did not know whose city this was, and supposed it didn't matter as she would be leaving now as it were. She turned to leave and heard a stammering,

"Th-thank you…" the brunette turned, and the businessman froze in fear as he met her blank, crimson eyes. He realized as she moved toward him that he should not have said anything. She had indeed forgotten about the surviving human. She smiled politely.

"Oh no, sir, thank you." She said and sank teeth into his throat. She had forgotten how hungry she was until he had reminded her with the mouth-watering scent of his fear. She removed his head with one of the thugs' knives after she was finished to assure that police would assume a mass-killing, and not record the two puncture wounds in his neck. It was the least she could do for whoever was running this town for her kind after she'd caused him or her so very much trouble. With a faint, amused smile on her face, Shizuru took to the air to return home. Or the place she had been calling home for the last months. She would be clearing out tonight. Else the new friends she had recently made would be just like the businessman—discarded lunch. Before she left town, however, she would have to dispose of anyone who could hurt Natsuki. She could not leave the girl completely defenseless, which meant that she would dispose of every one of her kind in town, as well as the leftovers from the night they had met. It did not matter to her anymore that those of her kind living in town had sworn fealty to Lady Viola when they had moved into her territory, it simply mattered that there was a possibility that they might decide Natsuki looked like a good meal. She would see to it that none of them had the chance to touch her.


	15. Blind

All-righty. Time for stuff…to happen. Enjoy.

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Natsuki had decided to walk to Shizuru's house, since it was still an hour before sundown and it would take her two to walk across town. She had woken in the late afternoon and completely run out of ways to distract herself. She had promised not to walk around after dark alone, but she decided that the British woman made it moot by never telling her about the whole…well, flying…thing. Besides, she could take care of herself. In fact, she felt like she could take on an army lately, anyway. She felt way stronger—she had accidentally picked her Ducati up off the ground like it was weightless earlier when she'd tried to lift the front tire off the ground to get it onto the curb—so she thought it was probably more than just a 'feeling'.

She didn't have too much time to think about this weirdness, though, because she was afraid that Shizuru would leave town before she could find her. The burgundy-eyed woman was making her crazy, she decided. It was almost impossible to think of anything else. She'd been walking for a while now and had noticed the sun go down some time ago when she felt a familiar sensation and spun around excitedly.

"Shizu…ru?" She had noticed halfway through that the man grinning at her was definitely not the woman she was looking for. "Uh, sorry." She said, sure her face was red with embarrassment. "I thought you were…someone else."

"Yes, someone named Shizuru." He said in a British accent that shocked the bluenette. He was British, too? That didn't seem likely…."You're looking for her?" he asked, and she nodded cautiously. "Wonderful," he said, clapping his hands together with an obvious excitement that was uncomfortably familiar. That smile made her just as uncomfortable. "As am I." he finished. "Perhaps we should search together, then." He suggested. The bluenette frowned. He was obnoxiously good-looking, well-built and with dark hair that fell into his honey-colored eyes.  
"You're Reito." She said suddenly as the realization hit her. His smile fell just a fraction.

"Where is Shizuru?" he asked suddenly in response, and she could hear the threat of violence in his voice, even though he still smiled. Did he think Natsuki had done something to the brunette? She wished.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be out here looking for her, would I?" She sneered, and this answer seemed to please him. He waited expectantly for her to continue until she finally continued with frustration, "Fine. I'm going to her house to see if she's there." She said, and he nodded.

"I was not yet aware of where she lives. Convenient then that I've run into a beautiful girl who seems very informed." he said cordially, and she rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure she didn't like this guy, but Shizuru had said they were best friends, so she spun on her heel and continued toward the woman's house. She turned when she didn't hear him following her and found him still standing there, looking surprised at her sudden departure.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked tersely, and kept walking. He caught up to her quickly. "Of course." He said, and she saw him smile that polite, charming smile that she apparently only liked on Shizuru's face. When he was wearing it, she just wanted to wipe it off somehow. Maybe she could get away with punching him. He might stop it then. She had a feeling that this guy wasn't going to make things any easier.  
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"Lady Viola…_please_." The predator disguised as a human girl begged her. "I have followed your rules to the letter…I…Just let me leave your town…I won't do anything to…_please_…" Shizuru smiled in response to the whimpering girl who was kneeling next to the corpses of her sire and his friend in the alley they occupied. The young one had already realized that running would be futile.

"You know, our kind has a pronounced talent at lying. Perhaps you are telling the truth, but I simply cannot take the chance that you are lying to me. There will be no loose ends here when I go." She said as if she were apologizing for what she was about to do. She was not. Speech patterns were so difficult to break. She found the blonde girl's neck, however, was not nearly as resistant to change.

She tossed the dismembered head between the three corpses and sighed. She still needed to track down one more interloper before she could leave. The girl had only recently come into her territory requesting homestead. This one had been a tracker for Talibah, another of the elders like Arturius, during the Roman Empire. This meant she was older than Shizuru, and would be difficult to locate if she had decided to go into hiding.

She did not know if Talibah's girl had been a fighter or not, but with the advantage in age (certain strengths refined with age among their kind), she could be difficult to deal with. Not impossible, Shizuru  
was sure—and certainly, as long as she took the girl with her, it did not matter if she died in the process. 

"I suppose this means that I am now the last remaining tenant of this city of yours." Shizuru looked up sharply, and found the bronze-skinned woman standing on top of one of the buildings framing the alley. "I do have one question." She said, and then vaulted from the roof toward the opposite building, a flash of silver revealing her weapon just before she jabbed it into the concrete and used it to slide down to the street. It was obviously magicked, since it sank into the concrete easily.

"If you plan to leave, why are you killing those who live here? You do know that if you vacate the territory, someone else will eventually move in." She said, sinking into a defensive stance across from the British woman. "Or has your sanity gone too far for any kind of sense at all?" Shizuru gave a graceful shrug. 

"I have not found that there is much infighting in the United States. Most of those who crave power remain in Europe and the east, and those who are weaker search for those with power to serve and glean protection from. It might be years before someone wants this territory. There is not much here that one might desire." She offered her reasoning, possibly to reassure herself.

She wished for the first time that she had taken a weapon from Arturius' cache when she had left him. She had never thought she would have to fight someone of this caliber, and that forearm-length knife could easily be fatal. The wind picked up. "Regardless, there must not be witnesses to what I have done." She said simply, and added in thought, _or for whom I have done it_. "Certainly you understand." The bronze-skinned woman frowned. 

"I understand now that I am a witness—but what of the others? Why did you break with law to kill your own kind in the first place?" she asked. Shizuru did not answer, but took a step forward only to freeze as three more jumped from the rooftops and flanked her. The Egyptian looked surprised herself, as much so as Shizuru. One of the men stepped forward and bowed to them both. 

"Talibah sends her regards and an invitation to come home. A message for Lady Viola: It would not be wise to harm what is mine. We will defend Amahte with our lives, but we are neither here to harm you. Our Mistress has long found your existence fascinating, and has no desire to see it end so soon." He appeared to be finished, as he stepped back into line with the other two men.

"Lady Viola—" This 'Amahte' began, but had no chance to continue, as Shizuru had moved past her as if she were made of the wind itself and dispatched one of the three men who had just arrived with one movement. The other two closed on her while Amahte turned to face the british woman, shock evident on her face. "You are much more powerful than I thought you might be. I see why Tali asked me to observe you. What you are…it is not the same as what we are, is it?" she said, almost to herself.

"Indeed, I seem to be something else." Answered the brunette calmly as she waited for one of this woman's two bodyguards to step too close or make a mistake. The two of them were wielding small, silver daggers that did not appear to be magicked. These men were expendable. Amahte, it seemed, was not. "Little matter when neither of us will awake tomorrow night." She smiled again, and the dark woman shook her head. 

"Why not both of us? As you heard, my master does not want to see you destroyed. But she will protect me—or avenge me, as is necessary. And while it might be possible to defeat me, even you must not have lost enough sanity to think you could defeat an elder." Amahte offered, still trying to find some way to avoid this fight.

"No. But it will certainly be interesting to try—" Shizuru moved without warning again as she saw one of the men shift his weapon, pushing past him on her way to the other woman. He slammed into the alley wall, and this time Amahte saw her coming. Blood dripped from the crescent-shaped wounds left by Shizuru's claws on her throat, Shizuru's wrist was also impaled by her blade.

The British woman hissed and retreated to the wall again, tearing her arm from the weapon still held by the Egyptian and clutching it reflexively. Amahte realized that Lady Viola would not win this fight, because she was fighting like an animal. She hadn't created wind resistance around herself to prevent the dark-skinned woman from raising her blade, because she did not think of it. She only moved quickly and tried to tear at her throat—she was animalistic, and her eyes were feverish.

"Lady Viola…I am terribly sorry, but if you cannot hear reason, I am afraid you will have to be put down." She wondered what had happened to this woman to cause such a fracture. She nodded to the guard who had returned to his feet, and he stepped toward the woman.

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"I think we should have told Natsuki the truth when we decided to protect her." Mai said miserably. Mikoto nodded, unhappy with her friend's mood.

"I don't like secrets." She said simply. Mai smiled at her childlike elder.

"Maybe I should listen to you more often about these things, Mikoto. You can be pretty wise about people sometimes." The redhead gave the shorter girl a small smile.

"Why not always?" the girl cocked her head in question innocently, and the Tokiha witch laughed.

"Because if I listened to you ALL the time, I'd never leave the kitchen, you bottomless pit!" she joked, and Mikoto thought for a moment before agreeing.

"That's true. But only because Mai makes the best food in the world!" the two shared a moment of laughter before both stood and turned abruptly. "Shizuru is fighting." Mikoto said.

"She's fighting a lot of people." Mai added. "We should help her." She decided, and began sprinting in the direction they had sensed the presences. "Mikoto! Natsuki is headed right for them! Go, Mikoto!"

"They aren't people, Mai." Mikoto pointed out before leaving the redhead in the dust to reach them more quickly.

"Be careful, Mikoto!" Mai shouted after the girl. This was really, really bad.

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"One moment, Lady Amahte." Another arriving monster, Shizuru sighed. Perhaps she should run and come for them again…separately. "My Master wants an audience with the Lady there, at all costs." Alexi said politely. "Your master may do as she wishes after this audience. That is the message I was in the process of delivering."

"Your Master will not be returning her, Alexi. We are not fools." Amahte said shortly, trying to decide which course of action would displease her mistress more in this situation, as it seemed satisfying her would no longer be an option.

"Perhaps not, but I am not allowed to let you kill her." He drew a sword hidden in the back of his business suit. "Shall we settle this, then?" The Egyptian and Russian squared off against each other and prepared to fight. Shizuru was simply tired. She was sure she could run once they began fighting, and return another time when it was to her advantage. Then her world tightened focus, and she felt sick to her stomach with panic at the voice coming from the end of the alley.  
"Shizuru?"


	16. All Hell

Here we go! Some of these questions are about to get answered, fiiiinally. Enjoy. :)

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_The Egyptian and Russian squared off against each other and prepared to fight. Shizuru was simply tired. She was sure she could run once they began fighting, and return another time when it was to her advantage. Then her world tightened focus, and she felt sick to her stomach with panic at the voice coming from the end of the alley.  
"Shizuru?"_

"No…" the British woman whispered in agony. She stared helplessly as the two servants left took hold of her arms to hold her fast. She did not even register this, as she tried to fight her mind to clarity. She needed to figure out how to ensure that her girl escaped from this situation. She was only human—chances were miniscule, and this just led to another wave of panic.

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"What's going on?" Natsuki questioned no one in particular as she took in the scene. There was that Russian guy that had approached Shizuru a few nights ago squaring off against an exotic looking woman, both with raised weapons, both looking really ornate and seeming to radiate some odd kind of power that made her skin crawl. There were two other dark-skinned men who looked like bodyguards or something (suits, shades, and all) who were grabbing Shizuru's arms where she had collapsed in what looked like defeat when she had got here. "Hey…let go of her." The bluenette felt anger wash over her at the way they held her, like she was a prisoner waiting for execution. She also felt anger that Shizuru just hung there with her hair covering her face while they held her arms up. She could just fly away, right?

"Well, if it isn't Lady Viola's pet _human_."The Russian guy said, and the way he said human made her think he meant something else. The exotic-looking woman was gawking at her.

"What? Did I stutter?" she said, proud that it didn't betray her fear. "Let go of Shizuru." She said again. 

"It appears, Amahte, that Shizuru's presence is no longer required of my master." The Russian guy said with a smug smile, and Natsuki took a few more steps toward Shizuru. Unfortunately, she was against the back of the alley and these two people who were staring at her like crazy people were between them. She had no idea how she would get past these people—they were holding some sick-looking weapons and looked like they knew how to use them. "You may kill her as you see fit." He said, and lowered his weapon, still grinning at Natsuki. 

"No you may not!" the bluenette responded quickly and without thinking, unconsciously stepping forward again. The woman he called 'Amahte' looked at him in surprise, and returned her gaze to the bluenette. 

"…What are you, girl?" she asked, her expression finally having settled itself into mild interest.  
"What do you mean, what am I?" she asked. "I have no idea how to answer that." She offered, thinking that Amahte seemed way less threatening than the Russian guy, and that since they were about to fight a minute ago, it might be a good idea to try and make friends. Or, at least, not make enemies. And Mai called her temperamental. She could think when she needed to.

"She is a liability." A british accent said from right behind her, and Natsuki turned her head sharply to look at Reito, who had finally joined them. His expression was smiling and unreadable, as always. A…liability? Natsuki tried to step away from him in a flash of panic, but he placed his hand on her shoulder, his vice-like grip holding her fast and bruising her shoulder.

"HEY!" she shouted, struggling but failing to remove his hand.

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The sound of Natsuki's shout startled Shizuru out of her panic, and her head jerked upward. She struggled a bit in her captors' grasp, but her wounded wrist was prodded painfully and with a grunt, she ceased struggling. She saw Reito for the first time in half a century, and he was hurting Natsuki.

"Reito." She managed, and he looked at her with something like disapproval. He turned again to look at Alexei, his smile returning.

"The agreement stands, does it not? I have found the witch, and as long as she is taken care of, there is no reason to punish Shizuru for her crimes." He said cordially, and Alexei gave a nod. Reito produced a weapon, and Shizuru struggled again, ignoring her pain but cursing her weakness—she could not pull free from these men. 

"Witch? Reito, she is not a witch. What are you doing? STOP." She said, losing control of her voice at the end, begging him to let her go.

"She might have done something to you, Lady Viola, to drive you mad this way. The Elders made a deal with the Council millennia ago, and the girl must die. Her kind is not allowed to exist. Each family is allowed only one pure-blooded heir, and this one is a mutt." Alexei offered, hoping the woman had finally come to her senses. He watched her face fall as she snapped her attention back to the girl who had stolen her heart. A witch? That was impossible. She would have noticed, she must have…did it even matter? She did not suppose that it did. At least, not right now. Right now, she needed to see Natsuki safe, and she could not do it alone. 

"A _what_? What the…what the hell is wrong with you people?" Natsuki said weakly, seeming unsure of herself. 

"Reito…" she forced out, her eyes pleading with the best and only friend she had ever known. He looked at her with wide eyes, his grip on Natsuki faltering. The blunette remained very still, but her eyes were sharp and calculating now. "I have only ever asked one thing of you, and that was to live. Now I _need_ something from you. I know you have been long apart from me, but I _beg_ you to do this for me. Please…protect my heart." She asked of him, and he stared at her. Alexei laughed. Amahte remained still and unresponsive.

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"Your heart? You have no heart, Lady Viola. None of us do. Reito, finish this and we can all go home." The Russian scoffed, putting away his blade. Reito stared at his sire for several long moments. "What are you waiting for?" Alexei asked him impatiently. "If you can't—" he was cut off by the british man's hand around his throat.

"I do apologize, Alexei. It is simply that I do not like you, and my sire has asked something important of me. You know how it is." he smiled as he slammed the russian's head against the brick wall and left to make quick work of the bodyguards holding Shizuru. Alexei fell to the ground, momentarily stunned as pieces of the wall fell next to him. He drew his blade again, fully intending to see his Master's order finished, and threw it for the witches chest.  
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Natsuki had remained where she was while they had discussed killing her for being a—a witch? She didn't understand what was going on here, and was sure she'd be able to force some answers out of the british woman if they could just get out of this in one piece. She needed to focus, and had managed it until Shizuru had asked Reito to let her go.

The blunette heard her heartbeat in her ears when the older woman had begged him to 'protect her heart'. She was stunned by the admission, and had only snapped back to reality in time to see Reito free the british woman. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She had taken a few steps toward her when she saw terror fill burgundy eyes and then a gust of wind literally knocked her on her ass. She heard the Russian snarl angrily in the background. 

"What the…hell?" she looked up to find Shizuru standing over her and struggled to her feet. She felt something wet hit her arm as she did that, and found blood. She looked, panicked, at the British woman who was very still. The point of the russian's blade was coming through the front of her chest.

"I see Natsuki is unharmed." She said groggily. "That is good." She tried to smile. The blunette felt tears sting her eyes. "I think…I am tired." She started to fall and Natsuki caught her. 

"Shizuru…why would you…" she tried to say, and gave up, panicked and unsure what to do. Shizuru could not die. Reito was at her side in seconds, ignoring the dark-skinned woman who had still not attempted to move for either side. 

"How could I not?" came the earnest reply. Reito gripped the hilt of the blade and slid it out of her chest, quickly and carefully. He laid her on the ground. Blood pooled around her.

"Alexei…" Reito started, his tone choked with anger, but Natsuki didn't hear anything else he said because she had snatched the sword from his hand and swung it toward the Russians face with a howl of rage before he could finish.

He caught the hand holding the sword, and was strong enough to stop her swing, but she didn't let him stop her attack. She dropped the blade to angle it toward his throat and pushed with everything she had. He could not do more than force the blade further down to his chest before she impaled him on it.

She tried to pull the sword back to swing again, but he held it in his body. She let go and threw her fist at his face. This sent him flying backward six feet into the wall, where he stood, looked at her with fear in his eyes, and leapt to the roof, disappearing from sight. She couldn't follow him, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Shizuru was dead. They hadn't even had any time at all. Shizuru was dead and it was her fault. "Shizuru…" she choked out.

"Wipe your eyes and come now." She heard the voice of the other woman in the alley for the first time since she had asked Natsuki what she was. The blunette looked up sharply and moved to attack. The woman stepped back, a weird look on her face. "Lady Viola is not dead, but she will be if we do not help her quickly." She said, and the younger woman scrambled to her feet, just to stumble over to the british woman and collapse next to her again. Reito was stuffing her wound with parts of his clothes. She looked dead. There was so much blood.

"It caught the side of her heart." Reito explained to Amahte.

"I will see her safely to her home with this girl's direction." Amahte offered. "You must find her sustenance so that she may heal." She said to Reito. He frowned.

"Your word that you will see her safely home and leave her that way?" he asked, and she nodded once. He disappeared around the corner, and Amahte turned to lift the woman only to find Natsuki already held her bridal style. 

"Come on." Natsuki said, and started running. Amahte smiled and followed. As soon as they turned to leave the alley, a small girl slammed into Amahte, sending them both to the ground. Natsuki stopped to see Mikoto holding a sword bigger than she was, with glowing writing all over it, glaring at Amahte. What the hell? She looked down at Shizuru again—they didn't have time for this. "Mikoto, come on. Shizuru is hurt. This woman is helping us get her home. Now." She started to run again, and Mikoto stared after her. 

"I see that you have this under control, girl. See to it that they arrive safely." Amahte said. She knew this was the Kanzaki by scent, and there would be a fight if she tried to remain. "I will watch from afar because I have given my word to see her home, and then I will go." She climbed to the rooftop, and Mikoto seemed confused, but turned to follow Natsuki after a short deliberation.

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Whew. That scene was hard to write. Too much going on! Anyway, hope you liked it.


	17. Blood Ties

_Whew. I've been busy with school and work lately, so none of my stories are being updated regularly. Sorry for all the waiting, guys—I promise to get to them when I can. I went to write some more of this and found a pleasant surprise—most of this chapter was already finished! Oops. So, here's a pretty long-awaited chapter—enjoy._

* * *

Alexei leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. He could not believe the way things had happened in the alley. Reito's betrayal, Shizuru's self-sacrifice, and most unbelievable, the witch had been _physically_ stronger than he was. Was this why the witches' Council and his Elders agreed that any mixed child was to be put to death? Was it out of fear?

"Hey there, mister…you look like you've been having a bad day." Came a woman's voice that was laced with mirth. He looked up to find a beautiful girl with short red hair and bright green eyes smiling at him from the other side of the alley he had stopped in to rest.

"You have no idea." He smiled. He had thought he would eat her to heal himself, but then he caught her scent fully and realized he was looking at a witch. "I'll be going now." He muttered, and moved to leave. The redhead stepped in his path.

"No, you won't." she said, and he realized the smile was not full of mirth, but full of a morbid kind of pleasure. He would not escape easily in this condition, but he was old. It was still a possibility. He prepared himself for a fight, wondering which family this witch was a part of.

"I was following the decrees of both my Elders and your Council. I will yet follow them." He said, hoping that she would see reason. She shrugged.

"I think these Council people are a bunch of assholes, anyway. And yeah, your following those orders is a problem for me. Down in that alley, you called my friend a mutt. I'm the only one who gets to talk shit like that to her, pal. And then there was the part where you tried to kill her, and that's less a problem for me, and more a problem for _you_." She finished, still with the disgusting smile on her face, still in a conversational tone as if they were talking about the weather.

"Please…" he tried, beginning to panic. The redhead snapped her fingers and the last thing he saw was red. His last thought before darkness was _Harrow_.

* * *

Mai had run into Natsuki and Mikoto sprinting back the way she had come, and questions had died on her lips when she had seen the condition Shizuru was in. She had silently sprinted after them, finding herself quickly left behind. Natsuki didn't seem to realize how fast she was moving, but Mikoto certainly seemed to. She was sweating—Mai had never seen her sweat. She knew she would soon have to have a discussion with Natsuki, and the girl would be extremely unhappy with her. She knew that she should have spoken to her sooner about their mission, and her lineage. She just hadn't known where to begin, and hadn't Natsuki been happier without knowing these things? At least until sometime yesterday.

"You are Ms. Tokiha, I'll presume." A smooth, accented voice caused her to turn quickly and stop running. He was probably the most gorgeous guy the redhead had ever seen, and there was something naggingly familiar about him. He also wasn't human, and was carrying a cooler.

"And you are?" she asked with a wry smile. "I'm in a bit of a hurry." She added. "I don't really have time for—" she was interrupted as the man held up a hand.

"Neither do I. Here is my problem. I need to go into my sire's home and help her to heal. However, upon reaching the house, I found something very interesting. I was under the impression that Mikoto Kanzaki was killed many years ago. Can you please explain this to me, and quickly?" he said, and there was something desperate in his eyes. Mai frowned, suddenly seeing a resemblance between Mikoto and this man.

"You're Reito 'Minagi' Kanzaki, aren't you?" she asked suddenly, and he seemed surprised, but nodded. "Okay…I get it. I'm going to send her to Nao so that she won't see you, Reito. She won't react well to you, I'm sure you know." She said, and started jogging again.

"I do. I will ask my questions again later, but for now, please forgive me." He said with a small smile, and Mai did not have time to ask him what he meant, for he picked her up bridal-style and began moving at such a high speed that they made a five minute trip in less than one. He set her down across the street and backed into the brush. She told him to wait where he was and jogged to the british woman's house.

"Mai!" Mikoto cried with a smile when she entered the front door. Natsuki walked down the stairs. They had apparently deposited the unconscious Shizuru on her bed upstairs.

"Mai, hey. Where the hell is that guy, Re—" Natsuki started, but Mai covered her mouth with a hand. She backed away from the hand. "What the hell?" Mai turned to Mikoto, pulling a written note from her pocket.

"Mikoto, I need you to do something very important right now. I need you to go and find Nao and give her this note. Do not stop for any reason, and do as Nao says." She said, glad for the first time that the young-looking girl was so horribly gullible.

"Okay, Mai!" she nodded quickly, glad for the 'important' job, and disappeared out the door. Mai barely had time to sigh, and Natsuki had started asking questions that were being purposefully ignored when Reito came through the door. He ignored both of them, walking up the stairs immediately. Natsuki followed him, and Mai stood in the living room for a moment before deciding to follow.

"Is that blood?" Natsuki's voice asked incredulously as Mai entered the bedroom. Reito was cutting the top of a blood donor bag off, sitting on the edge of Shizuru's bed. "What the hell is—" she started, and Mai put a hand on the pacing girl's shoulder.

"I think I have some things to tell you, Natsuki. And we should leave Shizuru to rest. Reito will make sure she is taken care of." Mai finally said, gesturing toward the stairs. Natsuki looked between herself and Shizuru for several seconds before nodding and moving toward the hallway. She had made it halfway to the stairs before she saw Natsuki still in Shizuru's doorway, looking indecisive. She moved back to ask her what was the matter, but the blunette spun on her heel, walked to the opposite bed side from the one Reito was on, leaned over and pushed the british woman's hair from her face.

"Please, be okay." She whispered to the unconscious woman, and placed a kiss on her forehead. Reito and Mai glanced at each other. She strode past the redhead forcefully, as if daring her to say something about it. And daring in an I-will-react-violently kind of way. Both of the room's occupants wisely said nothing, and Mai followed her down the stairs.

Natsuki sat herself on the couch, and Mai uncomfortably sat across from her. She looked tortured, but Natsuki didn't have the patience to feel sorry for her. She was tired of being lied to and snuck around.

"So, start talking. What the hell is going on here? Who are you? What is Shizuru? What…what am I?" she stumbled on the last question, still unsure that she even wanted to answer it. Mai took a deep breath.

"All right. This is complicated, so I'm going to just start from the beginning…"

* * *

Shizuru felt like she had been run over by a large truck. Several times. She managed to open her eyes and found Reito sitting over her. She tried to smile at him, but from the look on his face it looked about as pleasant as she felt. He held a container of blood to her lips and she consumed it as if she were a revenant. She noticed several other containers empty on the floor. She must have consumed them while unconscious. It was a feeding reflex her kind retained even when badly injured. She spat out the edge of the container suddenly.

"Natsuki—" she started as she remembered everything more clearly, beginning to panic. Reito placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Is fine, and is downstairs. The Tokiha witch is having a very interesting conversation with her at the moment." He explained, and Shizuru relaxed. She looked up at him again, and he raised his eyebrows at the demanding expression she wore.

"You will explain what happened in that alley to me now, Reito." She said, and he flinched at her tone of voice. He had rarely heard her so angry—though her anger sounded very calm, and sometimes even pleasant. It was the undercurrent of emotion that was uncomfortable to hear. Her tone was so flat and quiet, but underneath, he could hear the kind of rage that had killed an entire village of humans once shortly after Arturius had turned her. He nodded, swallowing unnecessarily.

"I have been with Arturius for the past decade, to make sure he hasn't become interested in you again," he began uncomfortably, and Shizuru nodded once, waiting for him to continue. "You showed up on his radar again when your city went magically dark," he looked away, "so he sent me to find out what was going on."

"Did you?" Shizuru interrupted, and he shook his head in the negative.

"Instead, I found Alexei and heard about what you had done—killing your own kind. He also told me that his master had discovered a mutt in your territory, and that they would overlook your mistake if you and I took care of it," he finished. His sire tensed at the word 'mutt'.

"Of which two clans?" Shizuru asked after several moments of silence.

"Kanzaki and Tokiha," Reito answered her, and she looked up sharply, her eyes filled with so many complex emotions and thoughts that he barely recognized her—and certainly couldn't recognize a single emotion or thought in them.

"Mai and Mikoto are protecting her from the Council," she said, coming to some sort of understanding. "They were sent to kill her as well," she added, "and Mai is hiding them all. That is why my city went magically dark, because she blanketed half the city with her ability to hide three witches. That girl certainly is powerful," she mused with a small smile, and burgundy eyes met Reito's amber. "Thank you for protecting her," she said quietly.

"You love her," he said, and it was only half a question. She nodded.

"I do not know how it happened, but it is so," she answered unnecessarily. "I now owe Amahte and her master a debt," the british woman pointed out. She looked up at the man she considered her younger brother. "Will you be remaining with me?" Reito thought she looked very young then, hopeful but afraid. He felt something stir in his chest for the first time in many years at the unfamiliar emotion in her eyes. Was this humanity this witch—this Natsuki's doing? The british man could not refuse what he felt was a plea from his sire, though he knew she would never admit it was such.

"Of course, little sister," he answered with a roguish grin, "After all, I would be in a great deal of trouble should I return to Arturius. I might as well remain here with you—and my _other_ little sister," he answered, and the latter sounded like an accusation. Shizuru smiled sheepishly.

"I only met her a week ago," she defended, "I would have contacted you—but much has been happening very quickly. Since you will remain by my side, I would ask you to arrange to meet with Amahte. We owe her a debt, and I would like you to find out what our payment will be," the brunette woman told him, and he nodded. "Mai can answer your questions regarding your sister before you go," she added. "I am feeling well enough to be left alone now. Please send Natsuki upstairs when you go," she finished, and he knew it was an order.

"Of course," Reito answered, and shot her a smile on his way out that she was already too distracted with her own thoughts to return.

* * *

"I'm _immortal_?" Natsuki practically shouted, and Mai flinched.

"Well, sort of. You won't get much older physically than you are now, and you'll heal very quickly. It doesn't mean you can't still die, but it would be hard to kill you," she answered honestly as the dark-haired girl leaned forward on the couch and put her head in her hands.

"You, Mikoto, and Nao are witches. I'm your cousin, and Mikoto's...what?" the green eyed girl muttered, and the redhead answered,

"It's sort of complicated...in fact, I'd need the archives and some paper and pencil to figure it all out, but you're a relative. Something like a great-great-great aunt...kind of."

"And the bosses of the witches, the Council, want me dead, because each witch family only gets one heir and you and Mikoto are it for your families," she continued, and Mai made a sound in the affirmative.

"The power of each family chooses an heir naturally. For instance, I have a younger brother. The power only passes to women, but even if he was a little sister, he would just be an normal human. The magic is always in the first born female child of any union. So no children are allowed outside of the first union. If my parents got a divorce, and my mother remarried, she couldn't have children with her second husband because their first female child would be a Tokiha witch."

"And if that happened, the Council would kill the baby?" Natsuki asked incredulously, and Mai looked away sadly. "That's…"

"I know. This is what I know about where you came from. My mother's brother married a woman he thought was far removed from the family…here. He had no reason to tell her who he was, and didn't have our last name because only those with magic carry that name. She was a descendant of the Kanzakis that had been assumed dead for many centuries, and after they had you, they realized what had happened. I wasn't told what happened after that, but it must have been bad for you to have ended up raised by someone else—but good, because the Council didn't know about you until they sent Mikoto and I. I don't think I was supposed to know even as much as I do—they told me you were a witch-gone-rogue, and that we should kill you the moment we discovered you, because you were dangerous. They didn't count on me spending as much time in the archives as I do," Mai explained, Natsuki listening silently with her head still down. "We found Nao when we were already here looking for you, and didn't report her to the Council because first, it would mean they'd know about you, and second, we didn't know if they would kill her too. We don't know if there's already a legitimate Harrow heir or not," she finished, and Natsuki looked up.

"This…this is all…" she stammered, looking to Mai like a lost child.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." The dark-haired girl's expression changed suddenly. "Shizuru—is she illegitimate too, or is she going to be in trouble for helping me?" It was Mai's turn to be shocked now.

"Natsuki," she started uncomfortably, "Shizuru is not a witch." Natsuki's eyebrows met her hairline.

"…What, then?" she asked finally, and Mai swallowed roughly.

"I think…I think you should ask her," she answered after a time. The green-eyed girl narrowed her eyes, and opened her mouth, but closed it again when Reito came down the stairs.

"That seems a good idea," the british man said as he approached them. "I need to speak with Mai for a moment, and Natsuki, Shizuru would like to see you now," he said smoothly. "It was _very_ nice to meet you," he added with a grin, but Natsuki did not hear him as she practically ran up the stairs.

* * *

_Coming sometime to a chapter right after this one—some ShizNat. Finally. ;)_


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